The True Legacy
by Narutofan401
Summary: It is said that time travel is out of the physical realms of human possibility.  Nagato never did consider himself human, however, as he sends his lifelong friend and a certain Uzumaki Naruto back in time before the idea of Konoha was even conceived.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

Where it all begins

** My excuses for this EXTREMELY long absence and explanations at bottom.**

I do not own Naruto.

XXX

A small smile graced the utterly exhausted visage of the leader of Akatsuki. He had seen many things in his life, things that would make an ordinary person heave their lunch onto the floor before them. From witnessing the supposedly accidental death of his parents at the hands of Konoha-nin, to the death of his best friend at his own hand. He had gone toe to toe with some of the strongest men and women in the entire land and come out on top. Hell Nagato was one of the only people in the world who could claim to have lived through multiple encounters with Biju and/or their Jinchuriki. But this boy...this young irksome boy...was unlike anything he had ever encountered. Not even his mythical Rinnegan eyes could get a reading on the young blond who stood before him. Despite the fact that he was basically fated to capture, or die trying, the Jinchuriki he couldn't help but feel as though there was something much deeper to it all. The words of his deceased teacher echoed through his head.

_The child of prophecy is you Nagato._

"No..." Nagato whispered, barely loud enough to be audible. It was enough as Naruto's deep blue eyes fixated on Nagato's own grayish-purple. "I am not. You are the Child of Prophecy Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened as he recalled the words of his deceased teacher and the toads during his sage training. Konan recoiled in shock as she looked at Nagato quizzically.

"Nagato..."

Her words fell on deaf ears however as Nagato continued his speach. "I believe in you Uzumaki Naruto. You will save this world from the never-ending spell of hatred. You will dry out the overflowing river of war. This is your destiny, not mine. I realize now that my part has been played." Nagato spoke as his pale lips turned into a thin smile.

Naruto flashed a grin as he laughed sheepishly. His eyes grew cloudy as he remembered the events of the day. "But the village...my friends are gone." Tears threatened to spill as the days events finally hit him.

Nagato's eyes narrowed as he brought his right hand to his chin thoughtfully. He seemed to be contemplating something. _ 'There is always the outer path...'_

"This world is doomed." Nagato announced after minutes of silence.

A hoarse growl rumbled from Naruto's throat as he glared at the Rinnegan wielder. "What do you mean? There's no hope at all?"

Konan looked shocked at her lifelong friend's words as she turned to him, silently demanding an explanation.

"Yes as we are now, Madara is to powerful." Nagato took a breath to let the words sink in. "Right now he has the other eight tailed beasts, including the Hachibi. Now add the fact that Konoha's military force is almost completely depleted. Even if I was to give life back to those who died today, I doubt it would be enough..."

Naruto and Konan's eyes widened for what seemed like the hundredth time today. "You could do that?" The blond sage asked doubtfully.

Nagato merely nodded as he continued to sort through his thoughts.

"But Nagato, there has to be a way! You've seen what Naruto can do! He will be able to-" Konan was silenced as Nagato simply raised his right hand in the air, signaling he was about to speak.

"No, Madara is to powerful. He will undoubtedly move as soon as the word of my failure reaches him. With the way Naruto is now...there is no doubt he would be defeated." Nagato reasoned as Naruto's normally cheerful eyes darkened considerably.

"But there may be a way." The former Akatsuki member announced as Naruto's head snapped upwards. "There is an ability of the Rinnegan that I've never used before..."

Now this got Konan's attention. Aside from Nagato and perhaps Madara she knew the abilities of the Rinnegan better than anyone in the nation. She racked her brain for any ability she could think of that would help the situation. She found none.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked as a look of uncertainty flashed into existence.

"I've never used this ability before..." Nagato took a deep breath as he carefully picked his choice of word, "Because doing so would indefinitely result in my death."

To say Naruto was confused now would be like saying Lee was mildly interested in exercise. "I don't understand...why would you do something that you know would kill you?"

Nagato smirked as his all knowing eyes seemed to glow in foresight. "Because it is the only way. This ability of mine can manipulate time and space to the degree that I can effectively send one or two people back through the time-space continuum."

A knowing look etched itself onto Konan's visage. "You don't mean...?"

"Yes. I can send you two into the past, in hopes that you'll be able to change this future." Nagato explained. Konan didn't look satisfied as she pressed forward.

"What is a couple of years going to do? There is no guarantee this is going to work!" The oddly colored haired woman argued. "If we do this and it doesn't work you will die for nothing!"

"No." Nagato stated simply. "Doing nothing and living would be worse than attempting and failing. The way I see it we can try this or we will all be killed by Uchiha Madara."

Naruto gazed intently at the ground, obviously deep in thought. A whole minute of complete and utter silence went by before the teenager made even the slightest bodily movement. After exactly one minute twelve seconds Naruto's head snapped upwards as a look of renewed vigor and determination shone through the grimy and smut ridden face of the young Jinchuriki.

"I'll do it."

Nagato nodded as his gaze turned to his blue haired companion. "Konan?"

The lone female member of Akatsuki sighed in frustration as she reluctantly gave in.

"Excellent!" Nagato seemingly chirped with new found energy. A low mechanical humm echoed throughout the hollowed out tree as Nagato stepped out of his machine. He blinked rapidly as he tried to regain his bearings. Being cooped up in a machine so long was definitely not good for oneself. "Get comfortable, this may take awhile." Nagato said as he begun a long and intricate set of hand seals. His fingers moved in an unrecognizable blur as his chakra flared violently.

Naruto slowly approached the paper-wielder with a nervous look present on his youthful face. "If we are going to make this work, we should probably start over huh?" He asked sheepishly as he shot one of his famous grins to his former enemy.

Konan couldn't help sprouting a small grin of her own at the younger boy's attitude. "I suppose."

"Hehe. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'm almost sixteen years old and my favorite food is ramen! I like training, my friends and meeting new people. I hate the idea of revenge, idiot villagers who don't let people into their shops, and the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook!" Naruto finished with small pout. Konan giggled at the boy's childish antics. It was strange to her that he was able to shift his demeanor from an overpowered teen-aged maelstrom to a childish fool in a matter of seconds.

"Well..." Konan started as she took a deep breath to clear her thoughts, "I'm Konan and, much like you, I am an orphan. I like origami, flowers and my childhood friends." Naruto frowned as he noticed her brief glance towards the relentlessly sealing redhead. "I dislike anyone who stands against Nagato or I. I also dislike mummified and/or masked men who insist on only showing one eye."

Naruto's brow crunched in thought at this. The only people he could think of with those qualities were Kakashi-sensei and that weird Akatsuki member Tobi.

Konan, as if reading his thoughts assured Naruto she wasn't talking about Kakashi, and that she would tell him in good time.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to break up this little get together." Nagato spoke up as his hands slammed into a ram seal. As soon as he noticed he had the groups' full attention he continued. "This may seem a little crazy but I'm going to have to ask you both to trust me."

Konan nodded immediately before looking expectantly towards her new time travelling partner. Naruto looked skeptically at the Rinnegan user as he seemed to weigh the risks.

"...How crazy are we talking here?"

Nagato sighed as he seemed to decide on his word choice. "Well. I'm afraid that in order for this to work, I'm going to have to kill you both..."

Naruto's eyes widened as he pointed a finger accusingly towards the missing-nin. "What do you mean 'kill us'?"

"I mean exactly as I say. In order for this procedure to work properly, you both need to be dead." Nagato explained in a voice far too calm for Naruto's liking.

"Oi! Why should I believe you? You _did_ destroy my entire village afterall." Naruto reasoned as he brought a hand to his chin in thought.

"You idiot!" Konan hissed impatiently as she turned to the blond. "Even if he was tricking you, what good would a dead Jinchuriki be for Akatsuki?"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he thought about her words.

Nagato looked deeply into the shorter boy's eyes. "It's now or never Uzumaki."

Naruto looked down at the floor in thought. On one hand it wasn't out of the question for the former enemy to be tricking him. Although it wouldn't make sense for the man to willingly kill his childhood friend as well. Naruto couldn't detect any sort of deceit in the man's words. Although he honestly wasn't well versed in lie detection, that was more up his chronically late sensei's alley. After a few moments Naruto looked into Nagato's eyes with a renewed sense of confidence.

"As long as you don't plunge an overcharged battery into my lung I'm good." Naruto shivered remembering his unique experience at the valley of the end. He couldn't help but shake his head at the strange looks the other ninja were giving him. "Long story."

Nagato nodded as he pulled out two of his sharpened chakra rods. They seemed to glow eerily with a violet hue. "Uzumaki lay here," He motioned to a spot on the ground, "Konan, you lay here."

They both quickly did as he instructed, lying their backs on the cold ground. Naruto closed his eyes as he felt the self proclaimed god itch closer and closer to him. He couldn't quite shake the feeling that something inconceivably wrong was going to occur in the near future, ermm, past. The blond quickly expelled such thoughts as he forcefully braced himself for what was to come. His eyes snapped open as he felt the unmistakable feeling of cold steel passing through his throat. The Jinchuriki's mouth gasped for air as he began to thrash wildly. Soon he felt a rush of chakra that froze him in his tracks. While normal chakra usually gave the feeling of the user, whether that be the calm, embracing feeling that frequently radiated from the late sandaime, or the sinister sensation that Orochimaru seemed to leak from his very core. This chakra, however, felt different. He couldn't explain it clearly, no he only knew one word that could fulling explain feeling. Emptiness... complete and total emptiness. He couldn't feel anything coming from this chakra. It was...unsettling to say the least. These were the last thoughts of Uzumaki Naruto before he closed his eyes for the final time.

X.X.X.X

Naruto's eyes fluttered open as he let lose a groan of discomfort. He grabbed his head in pain as the genin's eyes flicked back and forth, trying to get some sense of surrounding. A look of confusion etched itself onto Naruto's face as he found himself laying in a field, sparsely populated with medium sized trees.

"So you're finally awake?" A soft voice called. Although the answer was obvious, the woman knew no better way to start a conversation with such a stranger.

"What...where are we...?" Naruto groaned as he turned to the blue haired woman.

"Isn't it obvious?" Konan asked with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto frowned in confusion as the events of the day flooded his mind. All of a sudden the blond leaped to his feet as he desperately tried to make sense of the situation.

"It actually worked!" Naruto shouted with no hidden shock.

"Of course. You expect less from Nagato?"

Naruto chuckled as he marveled at what exactly had happened. He had traveled back in time! The blond had done a feat long thought impossible. He still had one question though. "Where the hell are we?"

Konan smirked. "I would have thought you'd recognize your own village..."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean...there's no village..." The ramen loving ninja strained his eyes to see as far possible, yet nothing but fields were to be found anywhere.

"That's right," Konan agreed, "not yet anyways."

"You don't mean...?" Naruto asked with a knowing look.

"Nagato sent us back before the village of Konoha was created."

X.X.X.X.

"WHAT!" Naruto shouted before Konan quickly slapped he hand over his mouth.

"Quiet! You don't know if anyone is around!" The former akatsuki member hissed in a low whisper.

"Actually..." Naruto smirked as pressed his hands into a unique seal. He closed his eyes as Konan stared expectantly. After about ten seconds Naruto's eyes opened. Gone were the light blue eyes Konan had grown used to seeing. Instead Naruto's irises were now a goldish yellow hue with horizontally slit pupils. Reddish orange marks surrounded the outer halves of his eyes. "I do."

_'So this is what a true sage looks like? To think this boy has surpassed Jiraiya's Sage abilities already...'_

Naruto closed his eyes as he extended his senses around him. After a few minutes of this the boy's lips curled into a shallow frown.

"We're not alone."

Konan's eyes widened as she began to plan battle strategies. "Potential enemies?"

"They both have really high chakra levels...definitely higher than Kakashi-sensei's..." He mused as he seemed to be uncharacteristically in deep thought.

"What is it?" Konan asked as she started to assay the situation. _'Kakashi-san has considerable levels of chakra...this may be bad...'_

"I got it!" Naruto announced abruptly. "That means their both at least elite jonin level!"

Konan's eye twitched as she watched the young boy before her dance in triumph. "You really are an idiot..."

"Huh?" Naruto immediately ceased his dancing and turned toward the former Akatsuki member.

"Nothing..." Konan sighed as she rubbed her temple. This was going to be a _long_ journey.

X.X.X.X

"What do you mean he's gone!" Fukasaku croaked as he was brought back to the land of the living.

"I'm sorry Fukasaku-sama!" The no-name chunin bowed as he continued his explanation. "As soon as we started to report the dead we noticed that neither Naruto nor the two Akatsuki members were anywhere to be found. It was reported that the boy went after the real Nagato, but as far as we know that's the last place anyone has seen him."

"This is bad! Alert the Hokage at once!" The elder toad shouted with as much authority his measly frame could carry. Of course the chunin's nervous frown didn't settle his nerves.

"I'm sorry but...that isn't possibly at this moment." he gulped as he ran a hand through his short brown hair.

"Don't tell me...the Hokage's dead?" Fukasaku felt the massive headache forming already.

"N-no! It's not that." The Chunin blinked his green eyes as he seemed to be pondering something. "Tsunade-sama is merely in a comatose state, the length of which is currently undetermined."

The vertically challenged toad croaked in annoyance. While it was good news to hear that the slug-user was still alive, it was still far from ideal.

"Fine...report it to Kakashi-san then!"

"Well, you see..." The chunin mumbled as he silently recited his will.

"For crying out loud!" Fukasaku screamed as he fell backwards in defeat. "Is there anyone in this god forsaken village that's still alive?"

The chunin seemed to have trouble choosing his next words, the last thing he wanted was to piss off an already irritated sage. "Well...I could report it to Yamato-san? As far as I know he's still alive..."

"Yes do that! In the meantime I need to find something for myself..." The aged toad mumbled the last part to himself as he began a set of seals. As soon as he concluded the hand seals the toad slammed his webbed hands onto the ground before instantly dissappearing in a puff of smoke.

X.X.X.X

"O-ojiji-sama!" Fukasaku called through pants as he rushed into the throne room of the eldest toad in existence. "N-Naruto's gone missing!"

The elder toad merely smiled lightly at his younger (Note the '**er**') companion. "I know this already child."

Fukasaku gazed at the giant toad skeptically. "You know what happened? And you're not worried that Akatsuki has captured him?"

The great sage merely chuckled at the significantly smaller toad's antics. "Do not worry...Akatsuki has not obtained young Naruto."

The toad's face morphed into one of confusion at this point. "If not them, who?"

"The answer is simple," The Great Toad Sage explained, for the lack of a better word, sagely. "Here take a look..."

Fukasaku peered into the large crystal ball for what seemed like hours. His eyes were glued to the purple orb as he watched what it had to show. Just as the images dispersed a frantic toad rushed into the scene.

"Fukasaku-sama!"

Said toad merely sighed as he looked expectantly to the horse sized toad that was currently trying to regain it's bearings. "What is it? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something..."

"Gerotora is gone!"

Neither toad missed the knowing smirk that slowly formed on the face of the great elder.

X.X.X.X

"These people..." Konan started, "Where are they?"

Naruto frowned as he closed his eyes again. "North-east, probably around 6 kilometers away..."

Konan clicked her tongue in irritation. "If we know they are there, there's a chance they know of us as well."

"Umm...Konan," the younger blond interrupted the Akatsuki member's musings, "They're coming our way."

Said woman's amber eyes widened in shock. She quickly began to form strategies in her mind for any possible outcome. Well she may not be able to think 200 moves ahead like some of Konoha's elite Nara members were said to be able to, Konan was definitely no slacker in the planning department. Ninja, let alone nuke-nin, rarely make it to S-rank without having at least moderately high planning capabilities.

"When will they arrive?" She asked as she turned to her blond haired companion. Naruto quickly expelled the remaining sage chakra from his system, causing his eyes to revert to their original sky blue pigment.

"Now." A bored voice called as two similar looking men appeared in front of the two time travellers. They were both momentarily stunned from the impressive showings of speed and stealth. In all honesty if Naruto didn't have his Sage training they would have had no idea the two were even in the area, let alone traveling towards them at such a pace.

The two were obviously related, if their looks were any indication. They both had spiky black hair with a faint blue tint. However Konan noted that while the man on the right kept his hair at about shoulder length, the other man opted instead to tie his hair back into a ponytail extending to his mid back. They both had black high collared shirts and blue pants, taped at the ankles. The two time travelers shared a hidden glance at the sight of a red and white fan that adorned the backs of the two.

It was the one on the right who spoke first. "Who are you and why are you trespassing in Uchiha land?"

That pretty much sealed the deal for the two 'foreign' ninja. All doubts they had of their time travel were erased with that one measly sentence.

"We are merely travellers of the land Uchiha-sama. I promise you that neither my friend or I wish you any harm." Konan explained quickly.

The two men exchanged a glance before their eyes swirled into a familiar blood red. They were obviously taking any potential threat seriously. This was evident by the fact that they activated their heavily chakra consuming dojutsu.

It was the second man who spoke this time. "Travelers you say. How is it you posses ninja training then? It is obvious your partner there is a well accomplished sensor."

Naruto went to speak but was cut off as Konan held a single hand in the air. "I can explain that. We were trained by a traveling hermit."

_'Oh she's good...' _ Naruto mentally praised the girl who was technically telling the truth.

"A hermit you say?" The first asked disbelievingly.

Konan nodded. "Yes, much to perverted for my tastes..."

"-But!" Naruto cut in abruptly. "He was also a great teacher and one of the strongest people I've ever met."

The Uchiha who had spoken looked at Konan expectantly. She nodded in agreement. "This hermit...where is he now?" He didn't fail to catch the depression that seemed to be radiating off the two at this point - particularly the blond.

"H-he passed away recently." Konan muttered in a depressed, and somewhat apologetic manner. This obviously confused the two Uchiha.

"I see. I'm sorry for your loss." The shorter haired Uchiha nodded his head respectfully. "My sharingan hasn't detected any forms of deception. What are your names?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and this is Konan." The blond answered with a grin.

"Just Konan." The S-rank nin answered the immediate question on the Uchiha's mind. "I was an orphan - we both were."

"I see. My name is Madara. This," he pointed to the longer haired boy, "Is my brother Izuna."

Naruto and Konan's eyes widened at this information. _Uchiha Madara._ This name had haunted them each for years in their past, in ways known and unknown to the two. This, of course, did not go unnoticed with the Uchiha brothers.

"You seem suprised?" Izuna spoke slowly, allowing his words to sink in. "Have you heard of us?"

"Of course we've heard of the heir to the Uchiha throne! You are one of the most famous men in the land!" Konan exclaimed as she mentally breathed a sigh of relief. That had been a close call. She thanked several different gods that she had payed attention to her sensei's lessons of history.

Madara nodded in understanding. "That is fair." He paused. "However...You said your name was Uzumaki, no?"

"Yeah Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto nodded slowly, not understanding where the future pain in his ass was taking the conversation.

"You wouldn't, by any chance, happen to be related to a certain Uzumaki Clan, cousin clan to the Senju?" Madara asked with no hidden malice. It was no secret he loathed the only clan that was on equal grounds with his own.

Naruto frowned. "Not that I'm aware of. I am an orphan and no one ever really told me about my parents..." Technically it _wasn't_ a complete lie. His father's appearance was only a safety precaution of the seal, not a real person.

Madara nodded. "I see. I apologize for my probing, but you see my clan isn't exactly on friendly terms with the Senju." Naruto nodded. It was one of the few things Iruka-sensei had managed to teach him regarding history.

"It's fine. I'm not really that sour about the whole orphan thing anymore." Naruto explained.

The future leader of Akatsuki nodded. "I can tell you haven't been lying. Now...Just one more question. Do you swear on your life that you in no way, shape, or form intend to steal, harm or in anyway mutilate anything owned by the Uchiha clan?"

Naruto sweat dropped. "Man you guys really take this stuff seriously... Yes. I swear I will not do any of those things."

"I concur." Konan nodded lightly.

Madara's gaze momentarily shifted to the blue haired woman. It was unnerving, to say the least, for the woman to be staring into the eyes of the man who had played her friends like pawns. If the man was impressed by her calm demeanor or the fact that she was able to stare down one of the strongest men on the planet, he didn't show it. Konan couldn't help but feel a tad bit apprehensive as the man flashed a cocky smirk.

"Your cloak..." he paused as he eyed the collared cloak, "I like it."

Naruto couldn't help but sprout a small grin at the irony of the current situation.

"Thank you. It was designed by an...acquaintance of mine." Konan replied as she mirrored the smirk.

"Hey!" Izuna spoke up in a loud, by Uchiha standard, tone. "Why don't you two stay with us? If you don't have any pressing matters to attend to, I mean..."

"Izuna." Madara whispered in a deadly tone. Something about these people seemed off to him. It was like he should know them from somewhere, although he was certain he'd never met the two before.

Izuna merely shot his older brother a goofy smile. "Come on Madara! We hardly ever get visitors. I'm sure father would like to meet these two as well."

Madara looked at his brother skeptically. _'I don't trust these guys, it'd be best to test their story before father.'_ Was the hidden message he'd interpreted from his brother's words. He eventually sighed in apparent defeat.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," He mused as he turned to the time travelers, "What do you say?"

Konan knew something was up from the moment Madara had agreed to his brother's proposal. Why would two members of one of the must high strung clans in the word invite complete strangers into their home. She weighed her options and decided accepting the invitation would pose less of a future annoyance than making an potential enemy of the Uchiha by declining the 'generous' invitation. She bowed to the two brothers. "I thank you for your generous offer. We would be honored to stay in your home, if you should allow it."

Naruto, while not nearly as experienced as Konan in foreseeing traps, was also skeptical of the Uchiha's apparent hospitality. _'I hope you know what you're doing...'_

"Yeah! That would be great!" The blond flashed the two his trademark grin.

"Great!" Izuna smiled. "Follow me." He instructed as he took off at a leisurely pace, by shinobi standards at least. He was confident in his companions' ability to keep up. The two nodded as they quickly caught up with the brothers.

The four ran in silence for a time. The dull sound of feet hitting ground was the only noise that disturbed the tranquility of the sparsely populated plain. It was Naruto who first spoke up.

"So Izuna-san...How far is your house?" The anxious blond asked. It was obvious he was tired. The day's events had taken their toll on the teenage blond. It wasn't everyday your village was destroyed by the heir to the creator of known jutsu. Then there was the fact that said man had gone on to switch sides at the last moment and send him back through time. _'And Sakura said that having my therapy speeches registered as a legal ninjutsu was pointless...'_

The man let out a dry chuckle. "Who said anything about a house?" True to his word the three soon arrived at the gates of what could only be described as a small village.

"This is where you live?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

Madara nodded. "Welcome to the Uchiha clan's main establishment."

Naruto looked on in awe as they entered the clan ground. Everywhere he looked he saw identical buildings. It was obvious the architecture of Konoha was influenced by the Uchiha village. Much like Konoha, the general structure of the buildings were cylindrical and rectangular with flat tops. They were all various hues of brown or maroon with distinctive red and white fans showing up at least once on every building. Of course there was one building that stood out form its surroundings. The building was at least two or three times the size of its neighboring structures. It also seemed to be made from a higher level material and had a peculiar polished finish that screamed conceited to the blond. In fact it seemed they were getting closer and closer to said building.

"Here we are." Madara spoke, momentarily interrupting Naruto from his thoughts. "This is the main house building. I hope you enjoy your stay at our humble abode."

Naruto looked at the man in shock. "D-did you just make a joke?"

Izuna seemed to be in a similar state of shock as he pointed a finger at his brother accusingly. "Madara...how many times has Soeki been caught peeping on the women's hot spring?"

"47." Madara sighed, "The one time I try to make a joke I got called out by a complete stranger and my own brother thinks I'm a fake..."

Izuna clapped a hand on his brothers shoulder apologetically. "Hehe I was just joking! I knew it was you...sort of." This caused Madara to glare at his brother. "I had my suspicions!"

The two visitors both sweat dropped as they watched the family interaction.

"Well anyways," Izuna spoke as he opened the door and led the two through a series of hallways, "You two must be tired. I'll show you to your room."

The two nodded as the events of the past day caught up to them. To say it was interesting would be like saying saying Hinata was just a semi-reclusive person when it came to Naruto. They had both, in all senses of the word, died.

"Here we are!" Izuna announced as he slid a door open to reveal a moderately sized room populated with two queen sized beds.

"Finally...sleep..." Naruto droned as he walked zombie like over to the nearest bed. If he had been of more able mind he may have noticed that the guest room alone was nearly half the size of his apartment, and was complete with its own bathroom and fireplace.

"I apologize for my friend's antics. We're both very tired." Konan explained.

"It's fine!" Izuna assured with a grin. "We don't get very interesting characters around here often. In fact, most of my clan are personality duplicates of Madara. You may want to get some sleep though, my father will undoubtedly want to meet you tomorrow."

Konan nodded appreciatively as the younger Uchiha slid the door closed. She soon approached the Jinchuriki. "You're not worried at all that they might try something as we sleep?"

Naruto mumbled some barely coherent words as he lazily positioned his fingers into a familiar cross seal. "Shadow Clone..." He mumbled as a single doopelganger burst to life.

The clone didn't look to pleased as it discovered its master's intent. "Why do I have to sit here all night while you get to sleep?"

Naruto's head slowly rose from the pillow as he glared at the clone. "You're a clone," was his simple reply as he immediately fell back into the world of sleep.

Konan sighed as she heard the clone grumble in agreement. She soon followed suit as she drifted into a dreamless sleep, completely unaware of the events the near future was going to uphold.

X.X.X.X

"Finally...It's done." Nagato whispered as he wiped the bead of sweat off his forehead. "I'm lucky we're related, or this would have been much more complicated..."

The Rinnegan wielder finished his final stroke as he took a step back to marvel at his work. On the ground the corpse of Uzumaki Naruto was positioned directly in the center of a complicated series of seals. Nagato collapsed on the ground as he crawled over to the young man.

"Naruto...I know you can change the world. Let this be just another tool to aid you in your journey." Nagato spoke quietly as he grabbed the cold wrist of the corpse. He scrunched in eyes in concentration as the little remaining chakra he had flowed into the Jinchuriki. When it was over the red headed man's eyes snapped open to reveal a set of sky blue orbs. He looked onto the body of his distant cousin sadly before Uzumaki Nagato finally succumbed to the will of death.

X.X.X.X

**Well this concluded the first chapter of my newest story! Some of you may be thinking 'Where the hell have you been?' 'Why are you starting a new story' or 'Will you continue your other stories?'. My answer to the first question is I've been dealing with my depression acting up again...pretty badly. I don't want to bore you with details but it's left me 100% unmotivated to write. Oh well it's not the end of the world. The reason I started this story is simple. I feel my writing level has gone down with my absence and I'm using this to bring it back to standard. Once I feel I'm back up to where I'd like to be I'll continue with the yellow flash of kiri. Also the manga chapters have been significantly better recently. :)**

-Narutofan401


	2. New found tools

The True Legacy

Chapter 2:

New found tools

X.X.X.X

Naruto woke up to a strange sensation. As his eyes opened he realized he was somehow getting closer to the ceiling. The blonde's eyes widened in shock as his head snapped back and forth, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"Konan!" He shouted as he slammed against the ceiling.

Said blue haired ninja yawned as she rubbed her eyes. She slowly turned to her time travel companion. "Naruto! What are you doing?"

"Oh I couldn't sleep last night so I decided the ceiling might be more comfortable!" He hissed in a voice laced with sarcasm. Konan shook her head as she tried to make sense of the information.

"Why does this seem so familiar...?" Konan mused as she brought a hand to her chin in thought. For some reason she couldn't get the feeling out of her head that she had seen this, or at least something related, before. Her musings were interrupted as Naruto pushed off from the ceiling, only to be slowly ascend back upwards.

"It's like the ceiling has it's own gravity!" Naruto growled as he attempted again. He was able to push off back to his bed, only to be pulled back to the ceiling with a distinctive crunch.

Konan's eyes widened as a knowing look appeared on her pale face. _'It couldn't be...'_

"Naruto!" She shouted as a spark of excitement appeared in her amber eyes. "Focus on the ground, try to imagine being pulled there instead of the ceiling!"

Naruto frowned in confusion as his gaze shifted to the ground below him. He imagined being pulled toward the ground. The intensity of his frown increased as nothing happened. He scrunched his brow in frustration and let out a low growl. "It's not working!"

"Keep trying." Konan ordered as she observed the younger man. _'Nagato...If you really did what I think you did, this boy may become something neither of us could ever dream of.'_

Naruto nodded as he took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind of unsettling thoughts, such as being stuck living on the ceiling forever. His eyes widened as he felt the sudden sensation of falling.

_CRASH._

Konan's eyes flicked over to the unfamiliar noise. She let loose a sigh as she saw the blond face down on the floor.

"Ughh..." Naruto moaned as he pushed himself to his feet. "What the hell was that?"

"That," Konan smirked as she watched the Jinchuriki struggle to his feet after a rather painful drop, "Is Gravitational Release."

Naruto's brow rose in apparent shock. "I thought there were only five kinds of chakra releases? Fire, wind, earth, lightning and water..."

Konan shook her head. "No, those are just the five available to common ninja. Others are available through the use of bloodlines or other similar cases. I remember Zetsu mentioning that you ran into a user of the Ice Relese in your younger days?"

"You mean Haku?" Naruto asked with a frown. "But Yamato-sensei said that those abilities were the result of using two different elements in sync."

"That may be the case with Wood Release and Ice Release, but gravitational release is a whole different thing." Konan explained as she noted Naruto's eyes seemed to be glued to her. "There have only been two known users of it in history; Nagato and the sage of six paths."

Now this caught Naruto off guard. "The Sage of Six Paths and Nagato both had the Rinnegan, so does that mean it's a Rinnegan ability?"

Konan blinked rapidly. She was momentarily taken back from the quick deduction the boy had shown. "Not quite."

"So I don't have the Rinnegan than?" Naruto's shoulders sagged as he pouted. He had witnessed a user of the mythical eyes in action and to say he was impressed would be the understatement of a lifetime. The boy could barely contain a grin at the thought of all the things he'd be able to do with those eyes.

"I'm afraid not," Konan chuckled as Naruto grumbled some barely coherent words. "I guess you could say that the Rinnegan is a sort of jack of all trades, but master of none. While it did award its wielder with some extraordinarily powerful abilities, they just couldn't compare with the same ability wielded by a master."

Naruto nodded his head. _'I think I get it...'_

"For example: one of the Rinnegan's abilities gave the user incredible strength through chakra control, which is said to be where the Senju's strength technique originated from. However, the Senju were able to utilize the technique to a further level than the Rinnegan user could even hope to. Another example is the mind reading ability Nagato had. While it can be used to steal thoughts just as efficiently as a Yamanaka, it can't possess a person's body or urge them to attack their comrades quite like the latter can." Konan lectured in a thoughtful voice.

Naruto couldn't contain the grin that sprung forth from his lips. If what she was saying was true, he would be able to use gravity to a degree that even Nagato couldn't! The man had destroyed the entire village of Konoha with gravity, and he'd be able to master it to an even further level! It was awe-inspiring to just think of such possibilities.

As if reading the young sage's thoughts, Konan continued. "If history holds true, you may just be able to wield gravity to a higher degree than Nagato himself. The fact that you were able to increase the pull of the ceiling's gravitational force is evidence of that, whether it was accidental or not."

"So, let me get this straight. You're saying I just accidentally created a brand new jutsu?" Naruto questioned with a grin.

"I believe so. Perhaps later you can test trying to attract other people to objects?"

Naruto nodded. "What about the gravitational jutsu ole' purple eyes already knew?"

Konan shot the blond a glare at the jab. "Nagato knew three jutsu in that category, albeit three extremely useful jutsu. Shinra Tensei was one of his most used abilities. Essentially what the technique does is manipulate gravity to repulse matter away. The real catcher is it can be used as a defensive technique, as it can deflect almost anything. Really the only drawback is the short time needed in between uses."

"The second jutsu is the Banshou Ten'in. This technique lets you attract anything towards you. It is essentially the opposite of Shinra Tensei, and also has the same time problem as the former. The third and most destructive is - "

Konan's speech was cut off by a loud knock on the door. The two looked at each other and silently agreed to continue their lesson later. Naruto got up and made his way to the door.

"Coming!" He called as he slid the door open. On the other side Izuna was waiting for them, adorning his usual clothing. He shot the younger man a grin.

"Good morning Naruto-san. I would appreciate it if you and Konan-san would dine with my family for breakfast?"

Naruto smiled at him and looked back at Konan. He silently prayed that the man hadn't overheard any of their conversation. It wouldn't be good for them if one of the more influential members of the Uchiha clan heard them talk about something as delicate as time travel. "That sounds great! What time is it?"

"I'm pretty sure father said that it was being served at 10:30, so that gives you two about 25 minutes to get ready." He explained. "Did you guys see the dining room when we came in last night?"

"Yeah we'll be fine." Naruto nodded as the Uchiha slid the door shut. He turned to Konan as his stomach let loose a bone curling growl. "I guess we can finish this after breakfast?"

X.X.X.X

Naruto and Konan sat next to each other at a decent sized wooden table. On the far end of the table the leader of the Uchiha, and quite possibly one of the most intimidating men the two had ever seen, sat. He had spiky black hair with wisps of gray that hung down to his mid back. His classic Uchiha onyx colored eyes held a certain look of mistrust, as if he was scrutinizing your every move. He was clothed in a black collared shirt and black pants, with blood red samurai-like armor above it. Engraved into the back of the armor was the traditional Uchiha clan emblem. Across the table from the two sat Madara and Izuna, both looking rather disinterested in the current situation. Finally the far end of the table, obviously the place where the lady of the house would sit, was left empty.

The two had quietly arrived about five minutes earlier and had greeted the table with the custom bows and greetings. They had taken the two empty seats and sat there in an awkward silence until the clan head had finally spoken up.

"So you two are the students of the wandering hermit that my sons have talked so much about?" The man asked in a monotone voice.

"Yes, I'm Konan and this is Naruto," Konan greeted as she pointed at the blond.

The man nodded. "My name is Uchiha Waizu. I'm currently the head of the Uchiha clan. It's a pleasure to meet the two of you."

'_Man this guy creeps me out...It's like talking to an older Itachi.' _Naruto shuddered as he waited for Konan to answer.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Waizu-sama. I hope our stay isn't an inconvenience to you." The blue haired woman responded politely.

"It's quite alright. We have plenty of rooms here." The man paused as his sharingan swirled into existence. "I do hope you aren't offended by the fact that I'm going to be using my eyes to make sure you aren't lying. We do live in a deceitful time..."

Konan shook her head. "Of course not Waizu-sama. I would be shocked if you didn't want to check our story's validity."

"Good. So this hermit, what did you say his name was?"

"His name was Jiraiya." Naruto answered with in semi-depressed voice. It was no secret the boy still mourned for his late master.

Waizu nodded, clearly satisfied with his answer. "I see, how did he pass, if I may ask?"

The two students of said hermit flinched as they shared a look. Konan sighed as she turned to the clan head. "It was another student of his, Nagato. You see Nagato had differing views on the world than our master..." _And until recently I shared those views._ Konan added as an after thought.

"To make a long story short," Naruto cut off the clearly distracted woman, "Nagato and our sensei didn't get alone, so they fought and Nagato killed him."

"I see..." Waizu took a breath as he determined the validity of the story. It was obvious enough it was a fairly recent occurrence, which would explain the hesitant behavior they were displaying. "And this Nagato, where is he now?"

Konan bit her bottom lip as she searched for an answer. "Well...Naruto here wasn't exactly happy after our masters death, so he ended up confronting Nagato on it. After a long fight Nagato eventually died."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Waizu stated apologeticaly as he seemed to be pondering an idea.

"Thank you for your concern, but it's quite alright." Konan smiled lightly at the man who was still deep in thought. Soon the man nodded as he finally spoke up.

"If I may ask, what areas of battle do you specialize in?"

Konan seemed to be momentarily taken back by the sudden topic change. "Well... I would consider myself a Ninjutsu specialist, with relatively high taijutsu. My genjutsu abilities are almost nonexistent, however."

The elder man nodded before turning towards Naruto. "And you boy?"

"Hmm, well I would say I'm a Ninjutsu type too, with zero Genjutsu and adequate Taijutsu." '_When I'm not using Sage mode..'_

"That would explain your unusually high reserves, I suppose." Waizu muttered absentmindedly. "How strong would you say you are, as a whole?"

Naruto frowned as he scratched his head in thought. It wasn't like he could base his power level on any of the rankings from his time, nor could he explain to the man that he'd taken down multiple S-ranked criminals. "Honestly, I don't know. I guess I haven't tested myself against anyone worth noting."

Waizu nodded as a sudden gleam sparked to life in his eyes. "Perhaps," he paused, "We could arrange a spar between you and a member of my family?"

Konan didn't look convinced. "I'm not sure that would be such a good idea Waizu-sama, what if someone was to get injured?"

Said man simply let out an uncharacteristic chuckle. "Nonsense! We have some of the better medics in the land, and I'll even have my family go easy on you. Now who to choose, Soeki, perhaps?"

For the first time in the entire meal Madara spoke up. "Father, I would like to request to test Konan-san."

Now this caught the clan head off guard. "What do you speak of Madara? No offence intended to our guests but you are one of the most promising ninja the clan has ever produced! Do you honestly think your talents would not be wasted on commoners?"

Naruto resisted the urge to growl at being underestimated. He looked over and could easily tell Konan wasn't faring much better as a tick mark appeared on her forehead. Although part of him could understand the Uchiha's logic, considering they had no reputation at all in these times. It still didn't mean he had to like it.

"It would be an honor to test my abilities against someone as powerful as Madara-san." Konan spoke in a clearly forced cheerful voice.

Waizu sighed before reluctantly giving in. He looked at his younger son. 'I suppose you would want to fight the blond, no?"

"Actually father...now that you mention it I have been curious about him. He was able to sense our chakra from a ways away..." Izuna chuckled sheepishly.

"Fine, so be it." The sharingan user snorted before turning to his guests. "Two weeks should give you enough time to settle in, I would suppose?" The two merely nodded their heads, still a bit irritated at being so blatantly underestimated. "Then in exactly two weeks the fights will take place at our private training grounds. I suggest you two prepare appropriately, you're going to need it."

X.X.X.X

Naruto and Konan stood in an isolated field about 25 kilometers from the Uchiha Clan settlement. The blue haired woman nodded to her partner as he positioned his fingers in his conventional cross seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." He whispered as four clones appeared in columns of smoke. "I want you four to spread out in a square formation. All of you go into Sage mode and stay on the lookout for anyone coming near. If you sense anyone dispel yourself." Naruto ordered as the four clones saluted before taking off to their respective corners.

"That Shadow Clone is definitely a useful technique." Konan admitted as she weighed the possibilities of the jutsu. It was almost to bad that her paper techniques were much too chakra depleting to even think about learning the skill. There was a reason it was a Kinjutsu, after all.

"Hehe, yeah they have their perks ." Naruto grinned as he rolled his neck out. He was finally ready to begin some serious training again. He silently thanked Kakashi for telling him the secret to shadow clone training. Who wouldn't want the ability to literally retain a years worth of training in a week? Naruto still kicked himself for not realizing the ability sooner. He couldn't even begin to imagine how strong he'd have become if he had known the shadow clone training method during his trip with Jiraiya.

"Okay now for the training." Konan paused as Naruto quickly turned his attention to her. "We don't want to be to noticeable, so limit yourself to 250 clones." Naruto looked about ready to protest but Konan was able to beat him to the punch. "Even with 250 clones we're pushing it for being discovered. Don't complain."

Naruto reluctantly nodded as he formed his favorite seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Soon a enormous cloud of smoke erupted throughout the entire plain. When it dispersed 251 orange clad ninja stood expectantly in front of the former Akatsuki member, waiting to be instructed.

"Okay, I want 50 of your clones performing the tree climbing and water walking exercises..." Konan began but was quickly cut of by the irritable blond.

"Tree climbing, water walking? But I already know those!" Naruto whined.

"But can you do them with only using your hands?" Konan inquired as she looked expectantly at her rapidly blinking companion. "I'll take that as a no. Chakra control is one of the most vital elements of a shinobi. You might not know this, considering you can literally spam out jutsu after jutsu without tiring. Imagine having the control to be able to make every jutsu in your arsenal with a fraction of the amount of chakra."

"Fine..." Naruto agreed reluctantly.

"Good. Now I want you to have another 50 work on cutting leaves using your wind chakra, while the leaf is being held to your forehead using chakra. This will effectively combine both a chakra control exercise and elemental control." Konan explained. "Then have another 50 work on the replacement technique. You have no idea how many times it will save your life to simply be able to perform this jutsu faster, believe me."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah I guess. What about the other 100 clones?"

Konan smirked. "Well they are coming with us to work on your gravitational release, obviously."

X.X.X.X _**Thirteen Days later...**_ X.X.X.X

"Shinra Tensei!'' Naruto shouted as he lifted his hand at his foe. Soon an explosion of force bulleted towards the clearly impressed opponent. Konan smirked as she exploded into paper, effectively dodging the blast. Still, the attack was more than enough to obliterate the bystanding tree that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The thousands of sheets of paper seemed to dance in a circular motion before they condensed into a humanoid figure. Soon the white paper started to develop its proper pigment and Konan appeared directly behind her blond foe. She attempted to swing her elbow at the surprised blonde's face. Naruto was barely able to duck under said elbow as he spun into a sweep kick. Konan was caught off guard by the Jinchuriki's quicker reaction times as she strained to jump over the outstretched leg. Naruto smirked as he used his momentum to spin around and deliver a vicious hook right into the paper wielder's stomach, sending her flying through the air. Paper wings sprung into existence as Konan was barely able to stop herself short from becoming well acquainted with the tree. She hovered about a foot above the air as she took a deep breath to regain her bearings.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto used this time of peace as a distraction to use his signature jutsu. Two clones phased into existence next to the blond. They shared a nod before charging at the blue haired woman. The first charged straight ahead as it attempted to deliver a straight punch. Konan 'tsked' the clone as she shifted her body sideways and outstretched her arms to catch the overextended arm of her opponent. She quickly brought her elbow to the joint where the Jinchuriki's forearm connects to the humerus, effectively breaking the would be attacker's arm. The clone exploded into a cloud of smoke as Konan jumped backwards and held out her arm.

"Paper Shuriken!" She shouted as thin pieces of paper detached from her sleeves and shot towards the fast approaching sage at unsettling speeds. The blond wasn't able to react as the three paper shurikens embedded themselves into his torso. Naruto let out a quiet gasp as he fell to the ground in a lump. Konan approached the blond with a cocky smirk.

"Looks like I win again." She stated with conviction as she witnessed the boy before he sprout a cocky grin of his own. That was when she knew something was up. The 'Naruto' then burst into smoke as she heard the sharp whistle of metal flying through air. That was when Konan noticed the hoards of shuriken heading her way, from basically every direction. "Shit!" She cussed as the blue haired woman leaped into the air, barely avoiding the deadly projectiles. Konan's eyes widened for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day as she felt a pull on her body.

"Bansho Ten'in!" A voice called as Konan was forcefully pulled through the air towards a smirking blond.

_'It's amazing that in such a short span he was able to get down two complicated gravitational techniques! Even with the use of clones it is nothing short of amazing...'_ Konan mused as she prepared her next action. She couldn't move as she itched closer and closer to Naruto's outstretched hand. Konan's eyes widened as the Jinchuriki brandished a kunai. He held it in front of him...exactly where she was about to impact. The blue haired woman went flying into the kunai at unnatural speeds, easily fast enough to have the small knife pierce through her lung.

Naruto shook his head as the apparently skewered Akatsuki member disappeared into a cloud of smoke, revealing a log with a kunai embedded to the hilt. The blond growled as he instinctively ducked, barely avoiding a slash from a paper sword. The sword still managed to cut a stand of his sun-kissed locks, showing how close he had actually been to death. He didn't have time to react as Konan immediately spun around on her heel, delivering a powerful knee to his stomach. This sent Naruto tumbling across the ground before skidding to a halt. He pushed himself to his knee and began to pant. Even the Jinchuriki's ungodly stamina was growing thin. He knew that if he didn't end the battle soon, he was undoubtedly going to lose. Naruto pushed himself to his shaking legs as his eyes danced over the battlefield, looking for any sign of the S-ranked fighter.

"God Damnit!" Naruto swore as trails of paper swirled up his legs, quickly constricting any movement. Soon the cocoon of paper was past his stomach and swirling around his arms. Naruto tried vainly to shake the material away but it was too tight. Now nothing but the boy's whiskered face was visible through the cocoon of paper.

"Now I've got you..." A voice chuckled as Konan swirled into existence right in front of Naruto's face. "It's a shame, you've really gotten good lately..." The former Akatsuki's danger senses perked up as she stared into the eyes of the constricted blond. "You aren't going to try any funny business, are you?"

"Nope not me." The blond chuckled. "But they are." Two Naruto's appeared in mid air, holding their palms together as an enormous ball of chakra spiraled to life. The blonds descending at a rate too fast for Konan to react as she was barely able to bring her sword into a feeble block. The spiraling ball of death met the paper sword in a fierce, but entirely one sided battle. Sparks exploded from the sword as it gave way from the enormous pressure the Oodama Rasengan was transmitting. The sword snapped in half after half a second of resistance. The over sized rasengan exploded in Konan's face, sending her spiraling back into a tree. The force easily sent the woman blazing through the first tree and still had enough leftover to crack the second tree. Konan rolled onto her back gasping for air as she mentally went over the fight.

_'This boy...I wonder if I would be able to best him if I went all out?'_

"I give up..!" Konan gasped out as she desperately tried to calm her breathing. She sighed as she accessed the damage. She knew the collision with the tree had atleast broken one of her ribs...

_Crunch!_

Scartch that, two ribs. Konan focused her chakra to her ribcage as paper from her cloak broke off and wrapped around her stomach, quickly transforming into bandages.

"I won?" Naruto grinned as he jogged over to the woman, clearly just as exhausted. "Finally!" With that the blond gravity user's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he collapsed backwards into the world of blissful unconsciousness.

X.X.X.X Later that day X.X.X.X

"I still don't see why I need new clothes!" Naruto grumbled as he reluctantly walked into one of the Uchiha's few clothing stores.

"Because what you're wearing is an eyesore and unbecoming of a shinobi." Konan answered simply as she gazed around the store. It was a fairly decent sized store, with a sizable selection of clothing. She turned and noted the attractive brunette woman working the counter.

"Hello welcome to the Uchiha Clothing Store, how may I help you?" She asked as Naruto and Konan approached the counter.

"Not exactly an original name, huh?" Naruto snorted as he turned to see the girl who had spoken. His eyes widened in shock as he admired the features of the teen-aged girl. She had soft black hair that fell just below her upper back, fair skin, and dark oynx eyes. The woman was adorned in a silky black kimono that was cut off just below her kneecap, and a scarlet red sash holding it together.

"Hehe, I guess not." She giggled. "My names Aijin, I haven't seen you around. Are you visiting here?"

Naruto blushed lightly at the girl's gaze. "Yeah, we are actually staying with Madara-san and Izuna-san."

The girl's eyes widened as she stared at the blond, looking him up and down. "You're staying with Madara-sama and Izuna-sama?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah I'm actually having a spar with Izuna tomorrow."

Aijin gasped. "You must be really strong than! Izuna-sama is supposed to be one of the strongest of our clan."

"Well I don't like to brag..." Naruto grinned as he brought his hand to the back of his neck and let loose a sheepish chuckle.

"Naruto!" Konan growled at the flirting blond. She didn't know why but it irritated her seeing the Jinchuriki flirt with the girl. Maybe it was because he looked like Yahiko? "Remember why we are here."

"Oh right," Naruto frowned as he turned to Aijin, "Do you know where the men's shinobi clothes are?" She giggled and pointed to the far left corner. Naruto quickly thanked her before making his way to the aisles. He browsed through several racks before finding anything he liked. A grin etched itself onto Naruto's visage as he quickly sprinted into the changing room. It was several minutes before the blond emerged from the changing room.

"How do I look?" He questioned as he finally came into Konan's view. To say she was suprised would be an understatement. Gone was the pesky 'kill me slowly' orange jumpsuit that she had grown accustomed to seeing. In its place were a pair of loose fitting black pants that were taped at the ankle, adorned with multiple pockets. A tight black sleeveless shirt was the next new addition. Over this Naruto wore his red cloak with black flame designs licking the bottom. Konan noted it was the same one he had worn during his fight with the Six Paths of Pein. _'Now that I think about it he did somehow lose the coat during the fight with Deva realm. He must have sealed it in one of his storage scrolls...' _Konan mused as she absentmindedly watched the boy attach his kunai and shuriken pouches to his pants.

"Well now, you finally are starting to look like a real ninja." Konan teased as Naruto groaned.

"Konan..."

The two shared a laugh as they returned to the counter.

Aijin smiled at Naruto as she rung up the total. "That will be 200 ryo."

Naruto smiled back as he pulled out his trusty gama-chan wallet and paid the clerk. They turned to walk out the door when Aijin abruptly called out.

"Naruto! How long are you going to be in town for?"

"I don't know...a couple of weeks probably." Naruto answered as he turned back to the brunette beauty.

"You should come see me again sometime?" Aijin asked hopefully.

"Heh sure! See ya around!" Naruto called back as he walked out the store with a goofy grin on his face. He could already tell he was going to like this place.

A pair of red eyes stared intently at the blond as he made his way through the dimly lit streets. The eerie hue of twilight reflected of the man's pale skin as he scrutinized the blonde's every move. _'Who are you Uzumaki Naruto...? Why is it I feel there is something different about you...something sinister? Whatever it is, it can't be good. Hehe it seems as if its presence is acting up my bloodlust again...' _The man chuckled as the three tomoe in his eyes morphed together to make a make pupil with three bars extending from different angles. _'You will be mine Uzumaki...'_

X.X.X.X

**And that concludes another exciting edition of 'The True Legacy'. Well I wrote my first fight scene in over 6 months, tell me what you think. I'm now officially starting the next chapter of the yellow flash of kiri, whooraa! Well as always, please review, because the more reviews I get...the faster I write! **

**As always pray good fanfics update, Kishi doesn't give sasuke another powerup, and that you always get your 12 key vitiams and minerals. **

**-Narutofan401**


	3. The power of underestimation

The True Legacy

Chapter 3: The Power of Underestimation 

X.X.X.X

Naruto's body shot forward as he gasped for air. He tried to settle his breathing as the blond began to attempt to interpret his dream.

_**Death.**_

__Naruto brought his hand over his forehead in a wiping motion, trying to rid his skin of the nuisance that was sweat.

_**Betrayal.**_

__He glanced to his left to see the tangled mess that was Konan's morning hair due. Naruto sighed as he made note of the chronic movement of the covers, signifying the woman's breathing was relaxed. The Jinchuriki then closed his eyes in frustration as he attempted to remember something, anything, from his dream.

_**Longing.**_

__Naruto's brow crunched in confusion as indecipherable images flashed through his mind. He didn't understand where they were coming from. Naruto knew it was a dream, but it felt more like...a memory.

_**"...All your fault."**_

__The only thing was, he was sure he'd never seen any of the people in the dream. He tried to make out the people from his vision, but try as he may Naruto soon realized it was nigh impossible. There was only a handful of things he could remember... two men, a woman, and flowing water.

X.X.X.X

Two men walked slowly down an eerily lit hallway. There was a distinctive silence that seemed to surround the two, not one of awkwardness, more so one of comfort. The two were comfortable enough around each other to not feel any necessity in conversing. The chronic thud of their feet hitting the solid wood floor was the only noise breaking this chamber of silence. They came to a stop as they reached a large double door made from rich mahogany. The one on the right gently clasped his callous covered hand around the doorknob. The door slid open with not so much as a squeak, revealing a large study littered with open scrolls. Waizu Uchiha sat behind an oak desk, deeply engrossed in a scroll. He didn't show any outward signs of acknowledgment as the two younger men walked into the room.

"Izuna, Madara," Waizu spoke quietly, "I'm glad you could make it on such short notice."

The two said boys nodded before Madara spoke up in a disinterested voice. "What is it you needed Waizu-sama?"

Waizu sighed. He never really developed much of a relationship with either of his sons. This was clear due to the fact that the two boys were not even comfortable enough around their father to speak to him without formalities. The Uchiha were taught two main principles as children. The first was respect. This extended to anyone in the clan, but more specifically to the elder generation. The second principle was that weakness wouldn't be tolerated. The children of the clan were often treated and instructed in ways that would be considered ruthless to many lesser clans. The life of an heir to the clan was no different, and in many cases worse. Not only we they expected to be above the level of every non-Uchiha, they were also expected to excel above their fellow clansmen as well. It was not unheard of for a clan heir to be banished from the clan for not unlocking their eyes by a certain age. Luckily for Waizu, both his children were known prodigies, each having unlocked their Sharingans before their tenth year.

"Yeah, I'm curious too, Waizu-sama." Izuna broke his father from his trance.

"Yes," Waizu began as he carefully rolled up the scroll and tucked it away in his pocket. "I called you boys hear today to ask you a simple question."

Madara's brow rose a minuscule amount as he barely caught a glimpse of his father's scroll. _'Mangekyou...?'_

"How far would you be willing to go for the sake of our clan?"

This question caught the two off guard. It was such a simple question, but a question that could be interpreted countless ways.

"Father...I don't understand." Izuna stated with a hint of confusion.

Waizu chuckled. "Just answer the question."

"I would forfeit my life to see the clan prosper." Madara answered immediately.

"As would I." Izuna agreed.

The clan head nodded his head approvingly. "I see...and the life of another, potentially close, person?"

Izuna looked shocked as he bit his bottom lip in thought. "I..."

"Without a moment of hesitation." Madara answered truthfully.

Waizu nodded as a smile replaced his usual straight face. "That is why you will make a great leader one day Madara. It seems as though my faith in you was not misplaced." He didn't seem to notice the scowl that momentarily graced his youngest son's visage, before it morphed into a sheepish grin.

"Yeah you really are great Madara..." Izuna chuckled dryly.

"Is this all you called us for?" Madara looked questioningly at his aging father. The man seemed to be deep in thought.

"No, of course not. I just wanted to wish you luck in your fights today."

Madara nodded. "Thank you, but I doubt I will need it."

"Of course," Waizu waved his hand dismissively, "I figured I would just wish it regardless. Do not embarrass the clan, either of you." Neither missed the way he was looking at Izuna as he spoke these final words.

X.X.X.X

Konan yawned as she stretched her arms over her head. She turned to see her travel companion staring blankly at the wall. "Naruto...?" She blinked in confusion as he didn't even acknowledge her, opting instead to continue his staring contest with the wooden wall. "Naruto!" She called out with more force. A shallow opening formed between the boy's lips as his chest inflated. Konan sighed in relief, at least she knew he wasn't dead. Worry flashed over the paper wielder's pale face as she threw her covers to the side and stormed over to the immobile blond. She gently tapped his shoulder, hoping for some kind of physical response. She was clearly disappointed. Konan growled as she frantically waved her hand in front of the sage's face. "Wake up idiot!"

"Huh...?" Naruto mumbled as his head jerked into consciousness.

"What the hell was that?" Konan questioned irritably.

"What was what?" Naruto replied as he shot his roommate a confused look.

"You were starring at the wall when I woke up and you wouldn't respond to anything." Konan explained through grit teeth. A look of recognition sprouted to life on Naruto's face.

"Oh...I guess I was just thinking about this dream I had."

"What happened in your dream?" The blue haired woman asked as she got dressed. A faint blush colored Naruto's tanned cheeks as he realized the woman was standing in front of him, wearing nothing but her undergarments.

"U-uh, I really don't remember." Naruto gulped as he tried to cleanse his mind of impure thoughts.

Konan looked at him suspiciously. "Oh? Well then it probably isn't important."

Naruto grudgingly nodded his head as he walked over to the dresser where he kept his shirts.

"We need to talk about these fights that are happening later today..." Konan's irritated demeanor flashed into one of complete seriousness in an instant.

"Yeah," Naruto paused as he pulled his black sleeveless shirt over his head, "What about them?"

"We are going to need to keep our abilities, for the most part, secret." She explained.

Naruto was about to protest when a certain memory resurfaced. _'Chakra more sinister than my own...Uchiha Madara.'_ He could clearly recall his experience with his own time line's Uchiha. "I understand why I shouldn't use the Kyubi's chakra, but what about gravitational release or even sage mode?"

Konan shook her head. "We don't want to risk giving away our secrets to potential enemies. Believe me it will help us tremendously in the future if the Uchiha decide that we aren't a threat to them."

Naruto nodded. It was sound thinking. "Wait...the Uchiha are supposed to be descendants of the Rikudo Sennin right? So they may be able to recognize my gravity release..."

The former member of Akatsuki blinked in confusion. She was momentarily shocked that the so called 'idiot' was able to come up with a theory she hadn't even thought of. Perhaps there was more Uzumaki Naruto than he let on. Perhaps he would live up to his heritage. When Konan thought about it Naruto really had a lot to live up to. Not only was he the legacy of the late Yondaime Hokage, but indirectly the legacy Jiraiya of the sanin, and even Nagato. "That could be possible. Since we don't know anything about the origin of sage mode I wouldn't recommend using that either."

Naruto nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

"Oh and Naruto," Konan's eyes hardened as her gaze locked with the blonde's own. "Under no circumstance are you to win this fight, got it?"

X.X.X.X

Konan stood apathetically in the middle of a rather large training ground. The training ground was populated with well trimmed grass and a small pond lingered in the far left corner. Konan's eyes were dull with disinterest as she eyed her opponent, looking for any weaknesses she could spot. _'His stance looks like a bastardized version of the Uchiha's intercepting fist. Either the stance has been remodeled since this time or he really isn't taking me seriously.' _

Madara's cold onyx gaze seemed to peer into her very soul. He casually shifted his weight to his leading foot.

'_So he intends to attack first? It seems despite his outward appearance he could potentially be aggressive, which is odd. The few times I fought with him in the future he was defensively orientated...'_

Waizu casually strolled into the center of the field. He carried himself with an aura of confidence that only the most infamous killers seemed to posses. The clan head looked at the two fighters before his thin lips curled into an amused smirk. "I would like this to be a friendly spar between two skilled combatants. The Uchiha clan would advise the both of you to refrain from dealing lethal blows..." Neither shinobi noticed the man openly sending his elder son a worried look. Konan resisted the urge to growl as she was so blatantly underestimated yet again. "Now without further ado...begin."

As soon as the word escaped the elder's lips Madara sprung into action. In the blink of an eye Madara was upon her, spinning into a low sweep. Konan's eyes widened in shock as she barely managed to leap over the outstretched leg. The Uchiha was undoubtedly faster than she. Fortunately the blue haired woman was in possession of the one thing those cursed eyes just couldn't steal: experience. She quickly brought her palm to Madara's outstretched kneecap, slamming it with unexpected force. Madara winced as he brought his lone free knee up in a vicious collision with Konan's abdominal region. Said kunoichi doubled over in pain, completely awed by the sheer force that Madara's knee could exert. The Uchiha smirked as his fist slammed into the former akatsuki member's side, sending her tumbling across the ground.

Konan growled as she pushed herself to wobbly feet. She cracked her neck and began to formulate a plan. Her amber eyes narrowed as she stepped to the right, barely avoiding Madara's outstretched fist. Konan smirked as she caught the side of Madara's right arm in her calloused fist. She quickly twisted the arm at an unnatural angle before bending low and flipping the man's body over her shoulder. This was followed by slamming the Uchiha's unprepared figure into the ground, hard. Madara gasped for air as Konan's fist slammed into his unprotected stomach. Warm blood flowed from the side of the heir's mouth as his eyes bulged from their sockets. The downed Uchiha performed a quick shunshin to appear on the far end of the training field. He tried desperately to calm his breathing as he shot a glare towards his opponent.

"Y-you're better at taijutsu than I expected."

Konan smirked. "I don't know if I should feel complimented or insulted."

Soon Madara's face sprouted a smirk of his own as he flashed through a set of seals. "Fire Release: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Madara shouted as he exhaled a screeching torrent of red-hot flames. The flames engulfed Konan too quickly for her to even contemplate moving, let alone prepare a counter. His smirk curled into a shallow frown as the smoke dissipated to reveal a charred log. Madara's shinobi senses screamed for him to dodge as four disks of sharpened steel embedded themselves deep into his back. Before Konan could even smile in victory the 'corpse' erupted into a cloud of smoke, revealing the innocent charred log to be the martyr. Madara's form exploded from the remaining smoke, sharingan eyes spinning in anticipation. In an instant he was before Konan. She couldn't react as he landed a series of punches on her torso. He finished by bringing his hind leg up in a roundhouse kick. Luckily Konan was able to slither her arms into a cross block, which absorbed the majority of the impact. Even so Konan still found herself skidding across the ground for a good meter and a half. Madara brought his other leg up and used Konan as a springboard to flip off, landing in a low stance. Konan noted the stance seemed much more refined than his earlier one. Perhaps he was finally taking her seriously.

The Uchiha's hands blurred through a set of signs. "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Jutsu!" An inferno of white hot flames exploded from Madara's windpipe, taking the shape of a dragon head. The dragon's eyes glowed red as it let out an inhuman roar and shot towards its prey with extraordinary speed. Konan's body exploded into thousands of sheets of paper as the dragon flew by harmlessly. The paper swirled in a vortex before shooting towards the distraught Uchiha. The razor sharp paper whirled around Madara, who was barely avoiding turning into one big paper cut. As the speed of the whirlwind increased even Madara's sharingan was unable to save him from several shallow incisions. Madara growled as he whipped through another set of hand signs.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" He shouted as the very air around him expelled in all directions, easily blowing away the offending paper. The paper swirled into a humanoid figure before regaining its original color. Madara closed his eyes as he tried to regain his breath. "That's some technique...Is it a bloodline?"

Konan merely smirked as she wagged her index finger at Madara in a condescending manner. "Now that would be telling." She lazily pointed her arm at her opponent. "Paper Shurikens!" Konan shouted as paper peeled off from her sleeves and started hovering alarmingly around her form. She snapped her wrist in a forward matter as the shuriken exploded toward her opponent.

Madara began a set of seals. _'I can't copy it! What kind of jutsu is this?'_ He finished with a tiger seal as the sharingan wielder exhaled a series of small fireballs, canceling out the offending shuriken.

Konan's eyes danced back and forth across the battlefield, looking for any sign of her cunning opponent. She looked in front, behind, side to side, and even up. That just left... Konan wasn't able to finish her thought process as a pair of arms exploded from the ground and clamped around her ankles. Her immediate instinct was to have paper from her legs constrict the attacker's arms. Konan stopped herself as she remembered a key bit of information. _'I need to loose.'_ The former student of the famous toad sage reluctantly allowed herself to be pulled underground. Only her head was left protruding from the solid earth around her. In less than a second Konan felt the familiar cold sensation of steel placed against her throat.

"I forfeit." Konan announced as Madara quickly pocketed the kunai. As soon as the match was over the former akatsuki member dissolved into paper, appearing next to her blond companion.

A rare grin graced the ever neutral visage of one Uchiha Waizu. He noticed that ever since the strange guests had arrived he'd been doing a lot of said unfamiliar act. "Bravo, an excellent showing If I do say so myself."

Madara merely nodded his head in approval, silently correcting his mistakes and deciding on future tactics should he face a similar opponent.

Konan smiled appreciatively. "Thank you Waizu-sama."

"Think nothing of it!" He blinked as he snapped his head back and forth, obviously looking for something. "Where is my youngest son? Madara where is Izuna?"

X.X.X.X

Izuna sat cross legged atop one of the taller buildings in the Uchiha district. His eyes were closed in deep concentration as a layer of sweat dripped down his unclothed torso. Taking a closer look one could clearly make out the deep frown and the visible twitch of his left eye. He seemed to be mumbling incoherent words as flashes of electricity shot fast him at uneven intervals.

"Damn it," Izuna growled as he felt his left arm go numb. He scrunched his eyes in concentration as the nerves of his arm slowly rewired themselves. The younger heir slowly began to flex his arm, trying to be certain he was a hundred percent once again. Izuna's ear twitched as he heard the unmistakable sound of something flying through the air. Without opening a single eye the boy's hand shot up and caught a kunai by the circular end. He offhandedly spun the dangerous knife around his finger before pocketing it in his kunai pouch. "Hello Shourei."

A large man appeared out of the shadows. He had the trademark onyx eyes of the Uchiha clan and was clothed in a navy blue, long-sleeved shirt. His black pants were taped at the ankle. Unlike most Uchiha who prided themselves in their neatly groomed set of hair, Shourei seemed to prefer the more militaristic shaved style. "Sharp as always Izuna-san."

"May I ask what it is you're doing here, oh infamous chief of police?" Izuna questioned in a sarcastic manner.

Shourei narrowed his eyes at the younger man. "What, a guy can't drop by to check on his old friend every now and then?"

Izuna let out a overly exaggerated snort at this. "I would hardly call us friends."

The police chief sighed as he clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Fine, straight to the point then. I have heard from a reliable source that you were seen sneaking into the forbidden section of the library late last week." Izuna didn't respond. "Am I correct in my assumption?"

"I care little of what you think or of what you've heard."

"You little disrespectful shit!" Shourei growled as he lifted the younger man up by his collar. "You think that just because you're the son of the clan head you can do whatever you please?"

Izuna closed his eyes in irritation. "Please set me down Shourei."

Shourei was momentarily caught off guard by the intensity of Izuna's tone. "I don't think so. What have you been doing in that library? You know learning techniques from there without Waizu-sama's permission is a criminal offense."

"What I do is my business, wouldn't you think?"

The bald man's grip tightened as he glared into the eyes of the brat in front of him. "Who the hell do you think you are? You aren't even the heir, last time I checked that right belongs to Madara-sama."

Izuna's eyes flashed dangerously as he pried the older man's grip from his neck. "Don't ever compare me to him."

Shourei grinned. "What is somebody a little jealous of their older brother? You a little sour over the fact that your father and the rest of the clan acknowledge him over you?" Izuna grit his teeth as visible electricity began to spark dangerously from his clenched fists. "Ha I knew it! I ought to go back to the headquarters and produce a warrant for your arrest immediately. Or maybe you'd have your big brother bail you out like usual?"

Izuna's fist connected with the older man's face in an instant. Shourei was sent sprawling onto the ground from the impact. "This little birdie who told you about me...who might that be?"

Shourei growled as he slipped into a taijutsu stance. "Like I'd tell a traitor like you. You are hereby under arrest for illegally stealing Uchiha Kinjutsu and assaulting an officer. _Please _do resist."

Izuna smirked as he slipped into an identical stance. He motioned for the older man to begin. "Don't you worry about any of that. I have ways to get information."

X.X.X.X

"Man don't tell me he isn't showing up?" Naruto grumbled as he tapped his foot impatiently. After seeing the fight between the paper user and Uchiha heir he was itching to test his strength against a supposed clan prodigy.

"Madara," Waizu looked at his elder son with concern, "Have you seen your brother today?"

Madara shook his head. "No, I haven't seen him since this morning."

Naruto moaned as he brushed imaginary dust from his cloak. Naruto's lips curled into a sad smile at the sight of his coat. There was a few reasons why Naruto decided to add the cloak to his permanent outfit. The first and most obvious was it just simply looked bad ass, there was no denying it. The main reason, however, was to in some way keep a small part of his sensei alive. It was Jiraiya who had given him the coat for his fifteenth birthday. The only reason he didn't wear it before was because he thought it hid too much of his orange. Well, that and he didn't want to look like some Yondaime Hokage cosplayer. Fortunately he didn't have to worry about that in this time, considering his father wasn't due to be born for another 50 years or so. The thought that he was, in all reality, older than his father made Naruto's head spin.

"He better be here..."

"Who better be here?"

"Izuna..." Naruto replied absentmindedly as he turned to see said Uchiha sprouting a large grin. "Izuna! You're finally here."

"Hehe yeah sorry," the younger Uchiha rubbed his neck sheepishly, "I had some business i needed to take care of first."

"Good, I thought you were just skipping out on the butt kicking you're about to receive..." Naruto chided with a grin.

Izuna mirrored the blonde's smile. "Come on Blondy, you think I'm _that _bad? Hell I could probably beat you with one finger."

Naruto's eyes softened as the familiar phrase brought up memories from his childhood. Soon he settled into a taijutsu stance. "Bring it on."

_'He's obviously leaning with his upper body, so I would assume that's the stronger portion of his body. My guess is a mediocre speed, heavy hitting kind of style.'_ Izuna smirked as he slipped into the classic intercepting fist style the Uchiha were famous for.

"Well who am I to delay such a promising fight? Same rules as the last fight. No lethal blows, no massive area affecting techniques. Any questions?" Waizu asked in a monotone voice. Seeing that neither combatant seemed to be questioning the rules he let out a deep breath. "Begin."

Naruto immediately charged forward with surprising speed. He began with a left hook, which Izuna easily ducked under. Catching the overextended limb Izuna was able to hurtle Naruto into the ground with tremendous force. Naruto gasped as he rolled over, barely avoiding a falling axe kick that would have connected with his stomach. The blond sprung to his feet just in time to catch a straight punch...with his face. The force of the punch sent Naruto sprawling onto the ground, trying to catch his breath.

"Amazing..." Konan droned. She knew for a fact that Naruto was no slouch in taijutsu, even without sage mode. To see him be so effectively dispatched was unnerving, especially considering the man wasn't even using his sharingan.

Madara nodded. "When it comes to taijutsu Izuna is the best in the clan, hands down. While his ninjutsu arsenal is mediocre at best and his genjutsu is appalling, he more than makes up for that with his sheer ability in hand to hand fighting."

Konan nodded dumbly as Izuna caught Naruto's leg mid swing and used the momentum to send the blond flying into the pond.

'_That's it! No more Mr. nice ninja!'_ Naruto growled as swam to the surface of the water.

"Is that all you got?" Izuna taunted as he watched the surface of the water impassively. Soon three blonde's short from the water. Izuna sighed as he slid into a relaxed stance. "Clones, really? I know they're illusions so you can cut the crap." The Uchiha shook his head as the three Naruto's rapidly approached. The first one sent a straight punch directly at Izuna's torso. Said Uchiha lazily brought an arm up to block as he felt solid contact. _'So this is the real one.'_ The blond then spun into an elbow thrust, which Izuna was barely able to dodge. The two parried strikes for a short while, neither being able to take advantage of any openings in the other's form. Izuna ducked under the real Naruto's punch and was caught completely off guard as the clone connected a solid knee to his face. This sent the taijutsu expert tumbling across the ground. After a short while Izuna pushed himself to one knee. His brought his hand up to the stinging wound on his cheek.

"Your clones are solid?" Izuna shouted in disbelief as he continued to nurse his wound. While there was a point where Naruto would have probably began to brag about how awesome his shadow clones were, this was not that same Naruto. Izuna's eyes narrowed as he stepped to the right, avoiding a flying roundhouse kick by a mere fraction of an inch. He was then forced to bring his arm up to parry a jab courtesy of another annoying blond. Izuna's eyes widened as a fist connected with his eye, sending him to the ground for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. He growled and pointed a finger at what he suspected to be the original. "How many of those things can you make?"

"Oh-oh." Konan muttered from the sideline. Madara flashed her a puzzled look. "Oh you'll see, trust me."

Naruto grinned as he slammed his fingers in a cross seal. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He shouted as a huge cloud of smoke enveloped the entire training ground. Izuna coughed as he waved his arms in front of him, trying vainly to dissipate the irritating smoke. When the smoke finally cleared Izuna's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. Surrounding him from all sides were hundreds of _solid_ clones. He took a deep breath before he began to spread his chakra into the air. Crackles of electricity began to appear randomly throughout his body as he focused his chakra into a ram seal.

"What is he doing?" Konan turned towards the Uchiha heir expectantly.

"This is Izuna's static armor. By harnessing the power of the static electricity that resides in the air around him Izuna is able to increase his reflexes by astounding margins. He is also able to deliver the equivalent of 100 static shocks by simply touching his opponent." Madara lectured in a knowing tone. Konan's eyes widened at the power and efficiency of the technique.

"Come get me." Izuna taunted as his sharingan spun to life. Now not only could he see his opponents moves, but he could react to it as well. The hundreds of Naruto's let loose a simultaneous battle cry as they charged forward. Izuna danced around the attacks of the clones, easily dispatching any who dared challenge him in close range. Those believers in quantity over quality were sorely disappointed as Izuna expertly weaved his way through the hordes of red and black. It took all but 10 minutes until there was only one Naruto left in the clearing. "It's just you and me." Izuna snorted as he vanished into thin air. In an instant he appeared before Naruto with his fist cocked back. Naruto was able to predict this and skillfully redirected the punch, in the process landing a menacing hook to Izuna's oblique. The Uchiha growled as he continued to trade blows with the blond. Eventually he grew tired and expelled a sphere of electricity from his body. Naruto was caught off guard as countless volts of electricity coursed through his unsuspecting body. The blond was thrown helplessly into the ground, landing with a resounding thud. Izuna approached the blond cautiously, almost as if he was expecting another to appear from thin air and finish him.

"Hehe," Naruto spit out a bit of blood as he locked eyes with his captor. "Looks like you won."

Izuna smirked as he walked calmly towards the downed blond. Just as he excepted the fact that it was over, 'Naruto' burst into smoke. Izuna's eyes widened as his head snapped backwards, just in time to see the real Naruto with his fist cocked back. The Uchiha knew he didn't have time to dodge so he settled for the next best thing. Just as Naruto's fist connected with his exposed torso he latched onto the blond's head, sending another series of uncontrolled volts into the Jinchuriki's brain. Izuna's eyes bulged from his sockets as the force from the punch literally blew him away. He flew directly into one of the few trees in the entire training arena. Izuna winced as felt several fractures in his ribcage.

'_Amazing...Naruto was able to momentarily increase the gravity around his fist, resulting in a bastardized version of Tsunade's strength technique.'_ Konan thought with a proud smirk.

A mischievous glint flashed through Izuna's coal colored orbs as he reluctantly gave up to the powerful force that is unconsciousness. He knew he was right about the blond in front of him, unfortunately he wasn't able to force the boy into using that sinister power of his. _'All in good time, I suppose.'_

**A/N: And here is the third installment of 'The True Legacy'. Hope you all liked it. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond, my computer hasn't been connected to the Internet lately. Damn quest... I did, however, read all of them through the use of my phone, so thank you. The next chapter of 'The Yellow Flash of Kiri' is about 2000 words in. You don't know how hard it is to pick up a story again after such a long absence. I had to reread my own dang story just to remember what was happening! Anyways cheers to the magna getting good again. (See what a month of no Sasuke does?) Well anyways please review. The more reviews I get the better my writing will become and the faster I'll update! **

**-Narutofan401**


	4. Taking a turn for the worse

The True Legacy

Chapter Four

X.X.X.X

Beads of sweat trickled down Naruto's tanned hide. He sat in a meditative pose, interlocking his legs. His hands were pushed together at the knuckle, forming a strange hand seal, and an odd orange pigment surrounded his closed eyes. To the eye of a normal man, shinobi or not, it would seem the boy was merely meditating in the air. While this was technically true, it was most certainly not all Naruto was doing. He was training his control in his gravitational release, and at the same time gathering Nature Chakra from his surroundings. His face was etched into a look of complete concentration. In this state of harmony the Jinchuriki didn't even register his roommate's soft grumbles.

Konan twisted in bed as her amber eyes fluttered open. She growled as the direct rays of sunlight assaulted her eyes. The paper mistress squinted her eyes and made her way to the blinds, pulling them both down in one fluid motion. Her amber eyes scanned the room before locking in place on one Uzumaki Naruto. Konan's pale lips curled into a faint smile as she stared at her blond haired companion. _'He's come so far in his gravitational abilities. To think, in only one month he is able to levitate! It took Nagato over a year and a half to do that, granted he was training in the other powers of the Rinnegan as well.'_

A content sigh escaped Konan's throat as she flopped down on the mattress. They had been staying at the Uchiha Clan's property since the battles. A small frown touched Konan's lips as she recalled a certain conversation she had overheard.

_X. Flashback .X_

_Uchiha Waizu sat in the chair of his desk, an unreadable expression plastered to his pale visage. Before him sat his two sons, the prodigies of the Uchiha clan. The side of his lips stretched into a shallow frown. "Madara, Izuna, report."_

"_The blue haired woman I fought was extremely talented in the shinobi arts," Madara began as he tapped his chin in thought. "She seemed to have exceptional hand to hand skills, and her paper ninjutsu could grow to be an extremely useful tool. She seemed to be extremely agile and graceful, hardly any of her movements were wasted. From what I saw she is as strong as some of our higher clansmen."_

_Waizu nodded his head appreciatively. "I see, how much of your full power did you use against her?"_

"_Around 50% Waizu-sama." Madara answered truthfully._

"_Good, good." The Uchiha Clan leader turned his cold gaze to the younger of his kin. "What of your opponent Izuna?"_

"_Naruto-san seemed to have a good grasp of hand to hand, although he was not even in the league of his blue haired companion," Izuna admitted. "The few ninjutsu he possessed he was able to use extremely efficiently, those solid clones and that ball of visible chakra are prime examples of this. That last punch he landed on me seemed a lot more powerful, so he could possess some kind of strength altering technique. I see a lot of potential in him, but as it stands I would place him in the category of a mediocre clansmen, at best."_

"_I see, and how much power did you use?"_

_Izuna seemed to ponder this question as he hesitated before answering, "Around 35-40% '10% at the most.' The electrically enhanced Uchiha added as an afterthought._

"_Very well," Waizu started, "I want you to extend an invitation to them. Offer them temporary room in our home. Perhaps they will assist us in defeating those damned Senju, or perhaps they will die. We may be able to harvest that girl's paper bloodline if we play our cards right."_

_The two brothers bowed to their father and disappeared in simultaneous clouds of smoke._

_None of the Uchiha were able to see a small ear in the corner of the room. The ear burst into paper and drifted out of the open window, with Waizu none the wiser._

_X. Flashback over .X_

It was no surprise that Konan didn't trust the Uchiha. They were not exactly what she would consider trustworthy, past or present. As the thoughts of trust drifted through the former Akatsuki member's mind she shifted her glance to the hovering teen before her. She didn't know what it was about the boy that made it so simple to trust him. Perhaps it was his natural hero complex, or the undignified manner in which he fought. She quickly expelled those thoughts, not wanting them to lead her to unpleasant memories. As she watched the blond sage she couldn't help but see a mixture of her former teammates, Yahiko and Nagato, and their late sensei. He had the laid back, somewhat charismatic, personality of Jiraiya, the stubborn persistence of Yahiko, and the natural learning ability of Nagato. If someone had told her a month ago that the blond would be a good student, she would have laughed in their face.

At first glance the boy seemed to be a brash, knuckle headed loser who could never get anything right. After beginning to train the boy she had found that he was much quicker to learn than she had originally thought, as he absorbed her knowledge like a sponge. Admittedly Konan had brushed him off as the former of the two at their initial meeting. She had been absolutely certain the Jinchuriki stood no chance against the might of the Rinnegan. Of course she had been wrong. He had not only defeated it, but he'd changed the adamant views of a self proclaimed god among men. Nagato had always possessed pure intentions, it was just the way he set on achieving them that was impure. Peace could never be sprung from the death and hatred of war.

"Naruto, you really are something." Konan whispered.

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he lost his focus, sending himself sprawling to the ground. A moan of discomfort escaped his throat as he pushed himself to his feet, expelling the nature chakra in the process. "Hehe... Good thing I was in Sage mode. I didn't feel a thing!" He exclaimed, shooting his companion a toothy grin.

Konan couldn't help but mirror the sage's grin. "I guess you still need to work on multitasking. Nagato was able to control six bodies, while simultaneously levitating in the air."

A thoughtful look overtook Naruto's features as he spoke, "Just give me some time, I'll get it down no problem."

"I have no doubt in my mind that you will," Konan agreed.

Naruto clicked his tongue in thought as he seemingly ignored the older woman's words. He sat there in silence for a few minutes before a strange grin sprouted from his thin lips. "I think it's time to continue on my master's legacy." With these cryptic words he wordlessly created a singe shadow clone. "I need you to impersonate me while I'm gone. Dispel if there is any troubles."

"What are you doing?" Konan inquired as a single one of her brows rose in amusement.

"You'll see," He chuckled as he began going through a familiar set of hand seals.

'_Boar, dog, monkey, bird, ram? He's trying to summon! That idiot, he should know that without a contract it won't work!'_ Konan was about to voice her concerns when the blond slammed his hand on the floor.

Naruto shot his roommate a sheepish grin before shouting out, "Summoning Jutsu!" A cloud of smoke erupted from the ground. When the smoke cleared, Naruto was no where in sight.

Konan sighed before shaking her head in annoyance. "I swear that idiot will be the death of me."

X.X.X.X

Fukasaku sighed as he sat in a meditative pose, which looked rather odd coming from a toad. He sighed as he extending his senses, feeling the nature chakra around him. His beady eyes scrunched in confusion as he felt a rip in the natural energy surrounding him, the same kind of rip that would happen when a toad was summoned to the mountain. He opened his eyes as glanced suspiciously to his left, the place where he felt the disturbance. In an instant a puff of smoke erupted from the air, revealing a young blond haired boy clothed in a black shirt, black pants, and a red cloak. He croaked in surprise as he rushed up to the uninvited guest.

"You, boy!" Fukasaku shouted as he appeared before the disorientated Naruto.

Naruto rubbed his eyes as he tried to adjust to his surroundings. "Man that really sucsk! Is this what Gamakichi complained about every time I summoned him?"

"Who are you? What are you doing at Myōbokuzan?" He questioned with narrowed eyes.

Naruto's blue orbs brightened at the sight of the elder toad. "Fukasaku! You're alive!"

The sage looked suspiciously at the newcomer. "Of course I'm alive, why wouldn't I be? Wait a minute, how do you know me?"

The jinchuriki's eyes widened in surprise as mentally berated himself for that slip up. "It's kind of hard to explain..."

"Well you could start by explaining how exactly you were able to summon yourself here?" The old toad asked.

Naruto nodded. "I used the summoning jutsu."

Fukasaku rolled his eyes. "Well obviously! You either must have a strong alignment with toads, or you have been here before. Which is it?"

"Hmm," Naruto pondered the answer with an overly thoughtful look, "Both I guess."

"That's impossible, I know every human that has ever stepped foot in this place," He pointed backwards at a group of statues, "They are all right there!"

"Well that's because I haven't been here, _yet_." Naruto answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You are an idiot, you know that?" Fukasaku grumbled as he walked away mumbling about idiot blonde's who contradict themselves.

"No wait!" Naruto shouted as he rushed in front of the toad. "How do you explain this?" With this thought in mind Naruto pushed his hands together in a strange seal, causing the toad's eyes to widen in shock. Soon enough an orange pigment surrounded the outside of the blonde's eyes as his blue irises shifted into a golden hue. A horizontal pupil completed the transformation.

"Impossible..." Fukasaku whispered as he approached the blond. He began to inspect the Jinchuriki's eyes, complete with pulling on his cheeks, and poking him in the eyeball.

"Ouch! That hurt," Naruto whined as he rubbed the irritated eye.

"How is it you are able to gather Nature Chakra? That should only be possible after training with myself or my wife, Shima."

"I have trained with you before, you just don't remember me!" Naruto protested.

"I remember each and every human I've trained. They are all statues." Fukasaku deadpanned.

"Okay... " Naruto took a deep breath. "This may be hard for you to believe, but you have trained me. In the future."

Fukasaku's eye twitched at this. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm a 700 year old talking toad and even I can say that is ridiculous."

"No it's true! My name is Uzumaki Naruto - "

"Uzumaki Naruto!" the elder toad gasped as he slapped his forehead. "Of course, the Great Toad Sage had foreseen your arrival. Come with me."

Naruto smiled as the toad led him into a dark room. His eyes widened as he saw an enormous toad sitting upon a throne. The toad had a necklace with the kanji for 'Oil' strung around his massive neck.

"Fukasaku, why did you bring a human here?" The Great Sage squinted at the small being.

"Ojiji-sama, don't you remember? This is Uzumaki Naruto." Fukasaku explained.

"Uzumaki... " The eldest sage muttered under his breath as he kicked the name around in his head. "What is a Uzumaki? I don't remember anything about a stupid Uzumaki!"

Fukasaku face faulted as he shot Naruto an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but Ojiji-sama can be very forgetful." He sighed as he turned back to the massive toad. "The one you predicted would show up, remember? He is already well versed in senjutsu, and he says he's form the future."

"Hmm," The great sage mumbled as a knowing look touched his visage. "Of course! Uzumaki Naruto, the floating maelstrom! I have been expecting you for some time."

Naruto rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry about that. We kind of got side tracked."

Fukasaku shot him a questioning look at his choice of words. The Great Toad Sage chuckled as he waved his webbed hand dismissively. "Of course, he has a companion. A companion who is...an origami crane!"

"Well not exactly, but Konan is able to control paper from her body, so close enough." Naruto grinned.

"Why don't you explain your story for us Naruto-kun? Please speak loudly though, Ojiji-sama's ears are not as sensitive as they once were." Fukasaku addressed the young sage.

"Okay... Well sometime in the next 10 years the wandering shinobi clans will begin to form hidden villages. The Senju and Uchiha will agree to an alliance and form Konohagakure no Sato, along with the other clans they have concurred and a few others." Naruto explained.

"The Senju and Uchiha? I was under the impression that they hate each other." Fukasaku asked skeptically.

"They do," Naruto confirmed the toad's suspicions, "But after Uchiha Madara takes over the clan, which I suspect to happen within a year, the two clans will grow sick of the constant fighting. Madara was apparently not very happy with this, but in the end he conceded."

"This makes sense... I have heard rumors of a similar situation deep within the land of lightning. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of these rumors, however." The great sage admitted.

"No that sounds about right. Kumogakure no Sato will be formed in lightning country. The three other main villages of my time are; Sunagakure in the land of wind, Kirigakure in the land of water, and Iwagakure in earth country." Naruto explained.

"I see, so how does this explain our current situation?" Fukasaku asked.

"Well it all started when Senju Hashirama was selected to become the first leader of Konoha, the Hokage. Madara was furious with this decision and petitioned with his clan to overthrow the Senju. The clan, fed up with the constant battle, declined as Madara fled the Village. This decision would become the spark that would ignite the world into a series of wars, eventually resulting in the destruction of my village..."

X.X.X.X

Naruto's face twisted into a sour look as he swallowed the food in front of him. From all the things he missed from his time, he could honestly say Shima's cooking was one thing would not make that list. Telling the tale of his life had worked up quite the appetite, however, so he had little choice but to shovel down the food. _'Would it kill them to make some ramen?'_

Shima smiled at the young man. "That is quite the tale young one. Please know that the toads will do everything in our power to prevent the same fate."

Naruto nodded as he flashed the toad a sad smile. "Thank you. I really appreciate it." The sound of wheezing and panting broke the blond from his train of thought. He turned to see Fukasaku struggling to carry a large, familiar scroll. With a gasp of effort the toad chucked the scroll at Naruto, who effortlessly caught it in a single hand. "Is this...?"

"Y-yes," Fukasaku panted as he regained his bearings, "That is the toad summoning contract. I want you to sign it."

Naruto nodded as he brought his arm across his face, ridding himself of his flowing tears. He gently unrolled the scroll to reveal three names, none of which he recognized. He brought his thumb to his abnormally long canine and quickly signed his name. A sense of Déjà vu flooded Naruto's senses as he went to hand Fukasaku the scroll back.

Fukasaku waved his hand in a dismissive motion. "You keep it. The master summoner of the toads is always supposed to carry this scroll with them."

Images of his deceased master flooded Naruto's brain as he remembered Jiraiya carrying the scroll on his back. Naruto nodded as he slung the scroll around his back in a similar fashion as his teacher. "Thank you Fukasaku-sama, I will make you all proud."

"I'm sure you will. Spread the word of the toads, boy. Remember you represent us now, so if you lose we all lose! You are the new gama sennin, as you called this 'Jiraiya' person."

Naruto's mouth curled into a toothy grin as he ran a hand through his unruly hair. Without his headband his hair had a tendency to shroud his eyes in a, dare he say it, annoying fashion. He shot the toads a double thumbs up before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Fukasaku frowned as an unnamed toad came flying into his household. "An unaccounted scroll toad has appeared! He claims to have an affiliation with one Uzumaki Naruto..."

X.X.X.X

Konan sighed blissfully as she cracked her shoulder. She walked into her shared room, clothed only in a simple blue bikini. She was on her way back from the Uchiha's heavenly hot spring. _'I haven't been to a hot spring since I was a kid! Ugh it feels so amazing...'_ A cloud of smoke alerted her to the arrival of her travel companion. Konan looked expectantly at the disorientated blond. She smirked as she eyed the large scroll strapped to his back. "So you signed the toad summoning scroll again?"

Naruto shook the dust from his head as he looked at the older woman. "Yeah, looks like you are traveling with the new gama sennin!" He replied with a grin.

Konan mirrored his grin. "So I assume I should call you Naruto-_sama_ from now on?"

Naruto nodded sagely. "I suppose it would only be appropriate for someone of my stature."

The paper user snorted, "You're an idiot."

Naruto's playful demeanor morphed into one of utter seriousness. "I told the toads."

Konan's brow rose in shock. "And?"

"They said they'd help. They also said we should get you a summong contract of your own." Naruto replied.

"Why can't I just sign the toad contract?"

Naruto sighed as he fell backwards onto his bed. "Fukasaku said it was forbidden for anyone who has killed a toad user. He considers you partially responsible for Jiraiya's death..."

Konan's eyes darkened, "I see. I can't really blame him."

"I'm sorry," Naruto smiled sadly at the older woman. As he turned to her she averted his gaze. "Konan." He called, trying to get her attention. "Konan!"

She finally met his gaze. "What?"

"I don't blame you for ero-sennin's death." He whispered softly. If he had been hoping for a response he would have been disappointed. "It's not your fault - "

He was cut off a Konan slammed her hand against the wall. "You don't understand! He was my sensei. I let him die, I planned his death with Nagato! He taught us everything we knew..." She squeaked as warm tears flowed down her unblemished cheek. "I knew what we were doing was wrong, but no matter how much I wanted to I couldn't go against Nagato."

"Konan..." Naruto muttered in a sympathetic voice. "I don't care. What's done is done."

These words fueled the burning anger that was developing inside Konan. "Why don't you hate me? You are an idiot! Because of me your master is dead. Why are you so _damn_ forgiving? I don't deserve your sorrow, let alone your forgiveness." She steadily grew quieter until the last words were mere mumbles. With these words Konan threw on her Akatsuki cloak and stormed from the room, leaving a downcast Naruto standing in her wake.

X.X.X.X

Naruto sighed as he looked upon the quiet village. He lazily swished his legs over the side of the roof, staring intently at the people going about their day. Memories of his past life flooded Naruto's mind. Memories of all of friends, teachers, and acquaintances. They were all dead. All because of one man. _'Nagato...' _ The very words brought feelings of pain and remorse to the front of Naruto's head. The man had been directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds, the destruction of his home village. A part of Naruto hated Nagato for his actions. Another part could sympathize with the man. His parents had been killed by Konoha ninja. Even though Naruto knew deep down that he could never forgive the man, he somehow found himself painting the Rinnegan user in a positive light.

_'Damn it. Why am I so forgiving? I have every right to be mad, to hate both Konan and Nagato... but I don't. Sure he sent us back to fix everything, but none of this may have happened had he just resisted joining Madara!' _ He was broken from his trance at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Uchiha Aijin, the girl who had sold Naruto his clothes, smiled as she sat beside him on the roof of the builidng.

"How did you know I was here?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"You've been sitting up here for hours, someone was bound to notice." Aijin giggled as the realization spread across Naruto's face.

"Has it really been that long?" Naruto shook his head as a sad smile touched his lips.

"Maybe longer," Aijin answered softly. "So what's on your mind?"

Naruto clenched his mouth shut, barely resisting the urge to tell the girl every thing that had happened to him in the last few months. For some reason Naruto felt he could trust the girl, although his secretive shinobi senses screamed otherwise. "I got into a fight with someone today."

"The blue haired woman?" Aijin asked as she swung her feet back and forth over the roof.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Well she was your only travel companion, it was fairly obvious." Aijin admitted. "So are you two a couple?"

Naruto sputtered incoherent phrases, trying desperately to deny the claim. "N-no! Of course not. We're just friends, that's all."

Aijin nodded her head, a skeptic look still plastered to her face. "Oh. I understand, fighting with your precious friends is definitely never good."

Naruto contemplated the girls words. Was Konan precious to him? _'She's definitely the closet friend I've had in a long time. In fact, I think I know her better than I knew most of my friends back in Konoha...'_

"I think the best thing to do would be to apologize to her," Aijin said. Naruto looked at her in bewilderment and was about to speak before she cut him off. "Sometimes apologizing to a woman is the best thing to do, even if it wasn't your fault. Do you think one petty argument is worth losing a friendship over?"

Naruto chuckled lightly as a toothy grin etched itself across his visage. "I guess your right! Thanks Aijin-chan!"

Aijin smiled at him as she noticed the large scroll across his back. "What is this scroll for? I'm sure you didn't have it the first time we met."

Naruto grinned as he struck an absurd pose and began hopping around on one foot. "I am the great toad sage, Uzumaki Naruto! This is my summoning contract!"

Aijin chuckled as she pushed herself to her feet. "Until we meet again, Uzumaki Naruto." With these words she disappeared in an entirely uncivilian like manner. Naruto was engrossed too deep in thought to realize this.

X.X.X.X

Aijin walked through the streets and into a deserted alleyway. Two red eyes snapped open from the shadows. "How was your mission?"

"Good, I have learned a lot about the boy." Aijin smirked. "He seems to possess a summoning contract, for toads."

The red eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Toads? This is a surprise, but shouldn't affect the plan much. Anything else?" The hoarse voice asked.

"He seems to be very close to this Konan woman."

"Good. We can use this to our advantage," A shadowy figure emerged from the darkness and rested a hand on Aijin's shoulder. "The plan will commence tonight. Make me proud Aijin."

"Of course... Izuna-sama."

X.X.X.X

Naruto sat atop the roof in absolute silence. He gazed over the town with a smile on his face. The glow of twilight gave the town a sort of majestic appearance. Naruto's eyes snapped to the right as he saw a building collapse in a fiery blaze. His eyes widened as a feeling of dread washed over his senses. Without thinking twice the boy shot through the rooftops of the distinct, intent on finding the source of the flame.

The Jinchuriki appeared at the scene of the crime just in time to see the very structure of the building give way, causing the frame to crash down in a fiery torrent. Naruto's eyes widened as he rushed to the nearest person. "What is going on?"

"I don't know!"A bistanding Uchiha answered honestly. "I was walking home from work when the dojo just exploded. We may be under attack."

Naruto growled as he rushed into the burning building, ignoring the cries of terror coming from behind him. He pushed his way through the collapsed corridors, searching for any form of life. _'None here...'_ He growled mentally as sweat trickled down his face. A faint cracking noise alerted Naruto to danger as he dove out of the way, just as the ceiling collapsed. The gravity user looked around for a way out, but he was trapped in from all sides. His sensitive ears perked at the mute, drowned out sound of screaming. His eyes danced around the room, trying to find the source of said screaming. Naruto was eventually able to determine it was coming from the left side, as he turned and pointed his hand at the wall.

"Shinra Tensei." He commanded his gravity as the wall exploded from the force, revealing the main room of the dojo. He rushed inside to see the unconscious form of a girl. Naruto's lips formed into a 'o' as he realized just who the girl was. "Aijin-chan!" The Jinchuriki shouted as he rushed to the body and began to shake it. "Wake up!"

Aijin's eyes fluttered open as she began to cough uncontrollably. "N-Naruto?" She gasped out as she continued to cough.

"Thank god you're okay." Naruto let loose a breath he had been holding as he scooped up the fragile girl, placing her on his back. He then began running in a seemingly random direction. "I'm going to get us out of this!" He weaved his way through collapsing hallways as he eventually turned into a narrow corridor.

"Naruto, this is a dead end!" Aijin screamed as she clenched her fists around his shoulders. "We aren't going to make it!" She screamed as the fire approached them rapidly.

"Don't worry!" Naruto shouted as he ran straight _through_ the wall. He found himself free falling to earth from the second story. The sage sighed in relief as he landed on the ground. He gently set the girl on the ground in front of him. His blue orbs narrowed as he glanced out of the corner of his eyes. Soon enough three shadows appeared in front of him, Sharingan eyes spinning in anger.

"What do you think you're doing?" The middle man, obviously the leader, spoke with venom dripping from his voice.

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned as he eyed the three members of the Uchiha Police Force. "I'm just saving a innocent girl from a burning building."

"Innocent girl?" The leader shouted with fury. "You don't know anything about that girl's actions."

"Yeah, so what?" Naruto countered as he slid into a fighting stance.

"That girl is a traitor to the Uchiha Clan! Are you telling me you are honestly siding with her?" The captain yelled angrily.

Naruto nodded his head. "She obviously didn't do anything! She was inside the building burning to death when I found her."

The captain turned his hateful glare towards Aijin. "Go on, tell him what you did. Tell him that you attempted to steal forbidden scrolls from the Uchiha Clan archive!"

Naruto looked down at Aijin in shock. "Did you...?"

Aijin shook her head. "I did no such thing!"

Naruto turned his cold gaze unto the three police force members. "You heard the girl. Now buzz off before I make you."

"Then we'll take her!" One of the Uchiha's shouted as he appeared before Naruto, leading with a vicious backhand. The backhand connected with Naruto's face as he slid across the ground. The Uchiha grabbed the teen aged girl and threw her to his captain. "Catch!"

Naruto growled as he pushed himself to his feet. He outstretched his arm toward the airborne girl. "Banshou Ten'in!" He shouted as the body suddenly stopped, before flying towards Naruto's outstretched arms. He caught the girl and blurred through a quick chain of hand signs. He glared at the group before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

X.X.X.X

Naruto appeared at the main gate of the village, Aijin in arms. He turned to see Konan leaning inattentively against the wall. "Konan-chan!"

Konan rose a single eyebrow at the added suffix, but opted to ignore it for the time being. "Naruto, where have you been? We need to get out of here!"

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

As if to answer his question a group of twenty Uchiha officers appeared surrounding the three. Madara stepped foward, seething in anger. "Uzumaki Naruto, you are under arrest for the assassination of Uchiha Waizu, as well as the planting of several bombs throughout the city."

X.X.X.X

A/N: **I felt like this would be a good place to cut the chapter off. So how was it? Forgive me if I am wrong regarding the toads or any events, as I am not well versed in the past of the Naruto storyline. I am pretty much making things up as I go. A Few Well Spoken Words will be my next update, followed by The Yellow Flash of Kiri.**

** Please review, as it helps to appease my muse, and when my muse is appeased that means much quicker updates!**

** -Narutofan401**


	5. The Shaping of a Legacy

The True Legacy

Chapter Five: The shaping of a legacy

I apologize for the length of my absence. My excuses are: finals, family vacations, the start of summer vacation, and my unhealthy addiction to Infamous 2. I don't own Naruto.

X.x.X.x.X

"Under arrest?" Naruto shouted in defense. "I didn't kill anybody!"

Madara sneered, "Do you think I'm a fool? We have several eye witness reports that place you just outside Waizu-sama's personal dojo. Don't you think it's a little coincidental that you haven't been seen the entire day, and as soon as you return, the leader of our clan is found dead?"

"Yes, actually! I _haven't_ been here all day, and why would I want to kill Waizu?" Naruto growled as his fingers subconsciously flexed in preparation.

"You are a foreigner with absolutely no background, and you are indirectly related with the Uzumaki, a known relative of the Senju! We have all the evidence we need. Stand down or I will personally detain you," Madara answered calmly as slid into a neutral stance. With a motion of his finger the assault began. Three of the Uchiha charged towards Konan, who effortlessly danced around their mediocre kenjutsu strikes. It was obvious that these were not the high-class Uchiha warriors, but more akin to cannon fodder. A paper kunai materialized in Konan's palm as she plunged the weapon into an unsuspecting Uchiha's neck. Without missing a beat the paper user sidestepped around a straight punch, before connecting a vicious hay maker with her opponent's neck, crushing his windpipe with ease. Her amber eyes narrowed as sheets of paper broke from her Akatsuki cloak. The razor sharp paper began to spin violently, letting out a low hum as they picked up speed. With a simple flick of her wrist the deadly projectiles shot forward an approaching group of Uchiha. The few that had already activated their Sharingan were able to dodge easily enough, but the same could not be said for the lifeless corpses that were currently littered with paper shuriken. Konan blinked in surprise as she noticed an airborne figure approaching at astonishing speeds. It was only the uncanny reflexes one acquires by surviving through countless high level battles that urged her to duck, allowing the body to sail harmlessly overhead. She clenched her hand around the paper kunai before twisting upwards and plunging the deadly knife into her opponent's stomach.

Naruto huffed in exertion as he stared down a group of ten Uchiha. They had been steadily trading blows for over a minute now, with neither force holding a distinct advantage. It was clear that the Jinchuriki's movements were restricted by the unresponsive girl he was carrying on his back. Naruto shot himself forward as twisted his fingers around the handle of a single kunai. The former genin brought his dagger up in defense as he locked blades with a longer ninjato. With a grunt of effort Naruto held back the stronger adult. The blond slowly stretched out his left arm, aiming it directly at his opponent's chest.

"Shinra Tensei!" He shouted as an invisible force collided with the bald Uchiha, sending his unresponsive body crashing into the side of a building. He wasn't able to marvel at his technique, however, as he immediately flipped over an approaching enemy. In midair Naruto's fingers locked into his most familiar seal, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" With a chorus of pops a dozen red clad blonds appeared, engaging the remaining Uchiha. Naruto's eyes widened as a fist impacted his face, sending him flying through the air. He was able to maneuver his body so that his passenger wouldn't be affected by his sudden collision with the wall. The Jinchuriki pushed himself to his feet and almost jumped in shock as a sudden chill shot through his spine.

"Too slow," Madara whispered as he appeared behind the blond. A single kunai glistened in his hand as the Uchiha heir swiped at his unsuspecting opponent. Naruto ducked low, a series of curses escaping his throat as he narrowly avoided the potentially fatal attack. Fortunately for the blond, a few strands of his sun-kissed hair had been the only causality. Using his downward momentum, the young sage twisted into a sweeping kick, intent on driving back the superior opponent. Of course Madara's Sharingan predicted this course of action a mile away, so it was honestly not surprising when the Uchiha effortlessly caught his opponent's extended limb. The revenge-fueled Uchiha twisted his body, which only served to add to the force of his throw, as he hurled Naruto into the ground.

A hoarse growl escaped Naruto's throat as he pushed himself to his feet, wiping a trail of blood from his lip. He quickly glanced to the left, sighing in relief at the relatively unharmed form of Uchiha Aijin. "What part of I didn't kill Waizu don't you understand?"

"Enough of your lies Uzumaki!" Madara sneered. "I should have known that a foreign shinobi, a relative of the Senju no less, would be nothing but trouble."

Naruto sighed as his mind tried desperately to formulate a plan. He knew that nothing short of a Kyubi-induced rampage or tapping into Sage Mode would even be able to slow down the furious Uchiha's assault. Of course he knew that using the Kyubi's power was off limits. Not only would it bring enormous amounts of unwanted attention to Naruto's makeshift team, he was also fairly certain Madara could control the fox. At least the Madara of his timeline could. _'This isn't good,'_ Naruto thought frantically as he pondered his current situation. _'There's no way I can beat this guy, Nagato couldn't even beat him! But maybe I don't need to beat him...'_ A devilish smirk touched Naruto's lips as his fingers locked into his favorite hand seal. A cloud of smoke later and the Jinchuriki was surrounded by fifty doppelgangers.

"More clones?" Madara questioned as he slipped into a defensive stance. "You're like a broken record."

Naruto was seemingly unfazed as he shouted a single order to his army of clones, "Go get him!" A chorus of shouts echoed throughout the village as the small army charged toward their clearly superior enemy. In all honesty Naruto didn't expect the clones to be able to distract the Uchiha long, much less defeat him. The sage's smirk intensified as he quickly brought his thumb to his mouth, swiping it across his abnormally sharp canine. Afterwards he brought his fingers through a chain of unfamiliar, at least to Madara, hand signs.

'_What is he planning?'_ Madara thought suspiciously, his eyes narrowing a fraction of an inch. Uchiha Madara was not a novice in the art of Ninjutsu. No, he prided himself in his vast knowledge on the very subject. It was no secret that the Uchiha prodigy had multiple elemental affinities. In fact, there were even vague rumors that the man had been experimenting with Time-space jutsu, a relatively new subject in the shinobi world. Despite the man's seemingly infinite reservoirs of knowledge... he was drawing a blank. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't identify the blonde's intentions, and that very thought scared him.

The Uzumaki finished his seals, slamming his hand to the ground. A strange pattern of written seals exploded from the boy's hand, further unnerving the Uchiha heir. "Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as an enormous cloud of smoke, exponentially bigger than the cloud produced by his Shadow Clone technique, shrouded Madara's view of his opponent. Minutes passed until the smoke finally cleared, revealing a sight that the Uchiha village would not soon forget.

"What the...?" A random Uchiha sputtered out, an awestruck expression plastered to his face. "Is that..."

"A frog?" Madara finished, his slightly heightened eyebrow the only exterior sign matching his panic stricken mind.

"Dammit!" A booming voice echoed throughout the large village. The remaining Uchiha turned to identify the source of such a voice, only to experience similar feelings of disbelief and panic. Standing in the ruins of the Uchiha's outer wall was an enormous amphibian; be it a frog or a toad. The beast was a rusty red in color, covered in dozens of warts of varying size. Its pale yellow eyes glowed with an unholy fury that promised an early funeral to any man stupid enough to anger it. A blue happi vest was thrown across the amphibians shoulders, while a gargantuan tanto was attached to its waist. "Where the hell am I?"

A sense of Déjà vu flooded Naruto's senses at this point. _'Man, the chief toad is exactly the same as he was in my time,'_ the Jinchuriki chuckled sheepishly as he noted the toad's apparent lack of his future counterpart's scar. "I summoned you."

"What?" The enormous amphibian shouted, his gaze dancing across the destroyed battlefield. "Where?"

"Up here," Naruto answered as he swung a newly retrieved Aijin over his shoulder.

"Ah," the toad hummed as his anger dissipated. "You must be the new summoner, a sage if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered quietly. His lips curled into a smile at the familiar sight of the, much younger, chief toad. "I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

"Well it's good to meet you Naruto. I'm Gamabunta," the toad introduced himself with a grin. "So what's going on here...?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story..." Naruto answered sheepishly.

Gamabunta nodded his enormous head, quickly scanning the surrounding area for any clues. What he saw immediately dampened his mood. "The Uchiha? You've definitely made some powerful enemies."

"I know," Naruto sighed, obviously still sour at the false accusations that were thrown at him. "I didn't summon you to fight. I just need you to get us out of here. Can you do it?"

"Well I would damn well hope you didn't want me to fight," Gamabunta chuckled, obvious relief written upon his face. "Even I couldn't win a battle against the entire Uchiha clan."

"I just want to get out of here as fast as possible," the Jinchuriki admitted, signs of fatigue clearly visible through his exterior layer of strength. "Konan!"

Down below, the blue haired kunoichi turned her attention towards the calling voice. A relieved smirk touched Konan's lips as she pulled her makeshift kunai from the throat of an opposing Uchiha. _'He definitely works fast. It's only been a day and he's already calling on the boss summon,'_ the former member of Akatsuki marveled at the sight of such an enormous creature. While Nagato could have undoubtedly summoned a creature of equal size, his soul deprived summons just couldn't compare to the independently minded familiars gained through more conventional manners. She quietly dissolved into paper, disappearing in a sudden breeze.

"Good to see you," Naruto whispered without so much as looking back.

Konan smirked, appearing beside her blond companion. "You came through after all."

"You're surprised?" Naruto questioned, his lips tugging into a playful smirk.

"No," Konan replied without a single moment's hesitation. "I believe relieved would be the more appropriate word."

"Enough of the chit-chat," Gamabunta's booming voice called, interrupting the banter. "We're leaving. I would suggest holding on tight; I'm not exactly a mellow ride."

The pair nodded in response, directing their chakra towards their feet. With these last words the enormous toad leapt into a distance-eating vault, leaving a thunderous aftershock as the only indication that it had even stepped foot in the village.

X.x.X.x.X

Madara hissed, his fists clenched in uncontrolled fury. His famed eyes lit up with malice, promising pain to anyone dense enough to block his path. He quickly scanned through the village, taking inventory of the various levels of damage. The most immediate damage was, of course, the outer wall. Over a quarter of the wall had been crushed by the Uzumaki's summon. Over the years the Uchiha clan had accumulated a large list of enemies, many of which would be eager to strike knowing the current lack of security. This was an easy enough fix, the Uchiha were at no shortage of skilled labor. A larger, more crippling, loss was the death of their clan head. While Madara had never formed the type of relationship with his father that most children had, he was still deeply saddened by the loss. Not only had Waizu been a powerful shinobi, a tactical genius, and a symbol of respect throughout the shinobi world. He'd also been much more than that. _'He was my father.'_

A comforting hand reached out, squeezing Madara's shoulder. He turned to see his brother, a sympathetic look plastered to his face. "Are you okay?"

Madara nodded, the look in his eyes contradicting the simple action. "Yes, I'm fine Izuna."

"So you're the new clan leader now," Izuna started, taking a breath to let the fact sink in. "What are you going to do about Uzumaki?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," the newly instated Uchiha clan head muttered, no identifiable emotion present in his tone. He pondered the situation. As the head of one of the strongest clans in the world, he could undoubtedly do _something_. The question was: What? "From now on Uzumaki Naruto is a criminal. I want you to set a bounty on his head... twenty million ryo."

Izuna's eyes widened. Twenty million ryo was a substantial amount of money, even for a prospering clan such as the Uchiha. "Are you sure we shouldn't start out with a smaller bounty?"

"Yes," Madara stated firmly, his apathetic gaze locking with his brother's confused eyes. "Let the world know that anyone who shelters or sides with Uzumaki Naruto will be an enemy of the Uchiha. If any of the smaller clans should harbor this fugitive... We will show them the Uchiha's wrath."

"Of course," Izuna nodded as he walked off, intent on fulfilling his brother's order. Nobody caught the devious smirk that touched his lips that this point. _'Too easy.'_

X.x.X.x.X

Konan sat cross-legged in front of a small campfire. The glow of the fire illuminated her pale face, allowing her a minuscule amount of vision of the pitch-black forest that surrounded her. She sat quietly, her gaze locked to the unconscious form of their Uchiha tag along. The fire lit up half the Uchiha's face in a strange glow, perhaps in accusation of Konan's suspicions. It was no secret that Konan didn't trust the girl. Years of deceit and betrayal had left the former member of Akatsuki with little trust in others; even now she was only just beginning to trust her blond companion fully. One could also argue that the blue haired woman had a distinct mistrust in anything Uchiha, which would also be true. She had grown up in a world where her best friend's actions had been manipulated entirely by a rogue Uchiha. Only at the very end had Nagato finally disobeyed the man's orders, sacrificing himself for a mere chance of stopping the very man. This was a chance that Konan would most certainly not waste. _'We should have killed Madara while we had the chance,'_ Konan thought bitterly. After all, the cause of all their pain had been right before them for over a month. _'Of course that could have resulted in a timeline where Konoha would never be founded...'_ Her thoughts turned towards her blond travel companion, who was currently seated to her left, lost in a meditative trance. _'Where are we supposed to go now?'_

"Hey," Naruto's voice called, his eyes still clenched shut in concentration. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Konan looked startled. Had he read her mind? "Why do you ask?"

Naruto chuckled as he opened his eyes, the orange pigment fading away as he lost his hold on the natural energy around him. "You can tell a lot about a person by their chakra. You're chakra seemed tense, almost as if you're expecting something to go wrong."

Konan sighed; she'd forgotten that the blond was so perceptive of his surroundings while in Sage Mode. "I'm just worrying about the future, that's all."

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned as he leaned backwards, his lips curling into a content smile. "I think we'll do just fine."

"Of course you do," Konan snorted. "You're always so optimistic. We've just made an enemy of one of the world's most dangerous clans. More than likely we will be hunted down and killed."

Naruto sighed, his smile receding into a shallow frown. "Maybe _you're_ the one being pessimistic. We're over fifty miles away from the Uchiha village, there's no way they'll find us tonight!"

"I'm not worried about tonight," Konan argued. "What about when they _do_ find us? We have only a vague sense of our location and a limited amount of supplies. That isn't even mentioning that we now have to provide for three instead of two."

The Jinchuriki's frown deepened, a sense of worry building up in the back of his mind. "We should probably find a more permanent place to stay."

"Agreed," Konan muttered with a yawn. "For now we should rest. We'll find the nearest village in the morning."

Naruto nodded as he laid his head on the ground, trying to find a comfortable position. A shinobi had to be able to make use of the few precious hours of sleep they could muster in their chaotic lives. Naruto knew this, and having camped out in the forests of Konoha on numerous occasions, he wasn't necessarily uncomfortable with sleeping on the ground. _'Not that my lumpy old mattress was all that better,' _he thought with a chuckle. Turning towards the sleeping form of his traveling companion, Naruto couldn't help but be taken aback. Konan's normally cold features looked soft, almost... fragile. Over the last few days Naruto had been introduced to sides of the chronically uptight woman that he'd never expected. The glow of the fire illuminated Konan's face in a serene show of light, reflecting from her piercing in a peaceful manner. He averted his gaze from the sleeping girl's features, a light pink tint warming his cheeks. "Goodnight Konan."

X.x.X.x.X

Uchiha Aijin's eyes snapped open as a sudden sense of panic washed over her very being. Her gaze flickered throughout the clearing, trying to form even the most basic sense of surrounding. Her keen eyes quickly spotted a note scribbled onto a piece of paper.

'_Gone to the nearest village, we'll be back sometime this afternoon,' _- Naruto.

Aijin blinked as she crushed the note, tossing it casually into the dwindling fire. To say she was surprised would be an understatement. She had been fully intent on dying the previous day, her mission coming to the forefront of her mind. _'Did I fail?'_ A sudden chill coursed through her spine at the prospect. Her master would not be pleased. _'No, I remember it clearly. My mission was a success... So why am I here? Why am I alive?'_

Images of a blond haired shinobi flashed through her mind, only serving to add to her confusion. _'Naruto...?'_ Her pale visage twisted into an expression of confusion. _'But why? Why would he save me? This doesn't add up...'_ With renewed conviction the girl pushed herself to her feet, intent on finding answers. Taking a step forward Aijin's legs gave out on her, causing her to collapse to the ground. "Dammit! I must have used too much chakra."

Giving into her increasing levels of exhaustion, Aijin pulled her legs to her chest. Conflicting emotions spiraled through her head as she gave into the darkness that was sleep. One final thought echoed through her head, _'Just who are you, Uzumaki Naruto?'_

X.x.X.x.X

Naruto's mood was deflating by the second. He walked through the crowded streets of Shin, one of the largest port village's in the world. Everywhere he walked, people seemed to be giving him an unearthly amount of space. It almost seemed as though they were avoiding him.

It had all started that morning. Konan and Naruto had woken at roughly the same time, their empty stomach encouraging them to stay awake. After deciding to search for a nearby city, they'd left a note for the unconscious girl and taken off. They'd traveled for about an hour at a civilian's pace, before finally reaching a large village. Konan was able to effortlessly identify the village as Shin, a port town in the Land of Hot Springs. She'd claimed to have traveled to the very village in search of Kakuzu during Akatsuki's recruiting phase. They had opted to split up, searching for work in guise of traveling mercenaries.

_'Why does it seem like everybody is scared of me? It's like my childhood all over again!'_ Naruto thought grimly as he approached a nearby fruit stall. Deciding on a more casual approach, he greeted the nondescript stall owner, "Hey, do you know anywhere I can find a job?"

"No," the man stated without a moment's thought. He hadn't even looked up, as he was clearly occupied by counting his various wads of ryo bills. "Are you going to buy something or are you just wasting both our time?"

Naruto was immediately put off by the man's hostility. The greasy haired brunette hadn't even looked up yet he'd already dismissed Naruto as a waste of time. "Dammit will you just look at me so we can have a real conversation?"

A groan of annoyance escaped the man's throat as he set down his bills of ryo. His cold gaze turned upwards, "Listen here kid, I don't know what it's like where you come from, but we go by a simple set of rules here. If you aren't going to buy something, don't bother wasting my precious time."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he grit his teeth. "You don't even have any customers. I don't see the problem in asking such a simple question."

The man finally took a good look at the annoyance standing in front of him. The kid, he noted, was of average height, being around 165 centimeters tall. He was clad in black clothing, with a red cloak thrown over his shoulders. He sneered at the odd outfit, "You're just a kid, one with an odd sense of fashion, but a kid nonetheless. What the hell could you even do for work?"

"Now listen here," Naruto growled, his voice lowering in anger. "The name's Uzumaki Naruto, remember it. I assure you I can do anything you could do, and much more."

"Uz-Uzumaki Naruto?" The man stuttered, the color in his face disappearing. He clasped his hands together, his lip quivering in regret. "I'm sorry! I didn't know who you were. Please forgive me!"

Naruto's anger melted into confusion as he eyed the man suspiciously. "What are you talking about? Know who I am, why would you know who I am?"

The man gulped, adjusting his collar nervously. "E-everyone knows who you are. You're the famed Gama-Shinobi, the murderer of Uchiha Waizu. It's also said that you single-handedly destroyed over a quarter of the Uchiha Clan's village"

"The what?" The Jinchuriki blinked as he tried to register the petrified man's words. "Oh come on! I didn't even kill Waizu, and I sure as hell didn't destroy their village! Man these rumors really get out of control..."

"Of course you didn't kill him," the man nodded frantically. Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that the man was agreeing with him out of fear, not sincerity. "Please don't hurt me!"

"Why would I hurt you?"

"Well, the Uchiha clan released a bounty on you this morning," the man explained fearfully. "They said that you are a hostile individual and that we are to flee on sight. We were also warned that should we... be caught sheltering you that there would be repercussions."

Naruto groaned as he brought his open palm to his face. "Really? The only thing I'm guilty of is escaping, and that was only because they were trying to arrest me for something I didn't do."

A relieved sigh escaped the stall owner's throat. He quietly produced a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and used it to rid his forehead of sweat. "I'll tell you what. You seem like a decent guy, I'd hate for those Uchiha to kill you. If you leave now, I'll pretend you've never been here."

"Okay," Naruto nodded, agreeing to the man's terms. He had no doubt that some of the Uchiha-loyal village men could have already reported him, so he would have to become sparse. "Thanks..."

"Ichiraku. My name's Ichiraku Hango."

Naruto couldn't suppress the grin that sprouted from his lips at this point. The irony of the situation brought a smile to his face as he signaled his departure, waving to the ancestor of his favorite Ramen chef.

X.x.X.x.X

Naruto cautiously made his way through the alleys of Shin. Ever since his encounter with the stall owner he had been on guard, careful not to be identified by any of the townsmen. Using the darkness of the alleys to remain hidden, the blond shinobi was easily able to make his way through the village undetected. It would be a large wound to his pride if he couldn't remain concealed in a primarily civilian village, as the Jinchuriki prided himself in his stealth abilities. Taking to the rooftops, Naruto scanned the area for any signs of trouble. His keen eyesight, possibly a side effect of being the Kyubi's container, was able to see with much more detail than the average human eye, thus making it easier to spot danger. Naruto shifted his gaze to the right, searching among the stalls and crowds of people for an exit. It was there that the Uzumaki's gaze locked on a single girl.

She was a young girl, being fourteen or fifteen years of age. Naruto noted, with a blush, that she was absolutely stunning. She was clothed in an elaborate, high-collaredkimono with a very familiar spiral design on the back. Her vibrant red hair was pulled together into two buns, not unlike the hairstyle of Naruto's unborn friend Tenten. Two tags decorated with a complex sealing array hung from her hair, one from each bun. Her eyes were a piercing green, scanning the crowd before her for any potential dangers. Despite her young age, it was clear that she'd received shinobi training of some kind, as she moved with the kind of grace only a kunoichi could muster. An eerily familiar diamond-shaped pattern was placed in the center of her forehead.

"Wow," Naruto muttered as his gaze followed the girl's movements through the crowded streets. As hard as he tried Naruto couldn't avert his eyes from the strangely familiar girl. It was then that he noticed his mistake. Like all good shinobi, the girl before him had a sort of sixth sense that informed her when she was being watched. Her green orbs flickered to Naruto, locking with his deep blue. They each stood there, staring into each others eyes for what seemed like minutes. At long last the girl averted her gaze, producing a kunai from her hip pouch. With practiced speed the kunoichi hurled the dagger towards her observer. Naruto yelped as he narrowly dodged the projectile. His eyes widened as the kunai embedded into the roof of the building, a strange sealing array webbing from the point of impact. In an instant the kunai began to produce a low humming noise.

_'Shit-'_ Naruto started as the kunai _exploded_ in a shower of electricity, sending him tumbling across the building top. He skidded to a stop near the edge of the building, noting with a frown that he was in some sort of temporary paralysis.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you," a feminine voice called as the redheaded girl stepped into Naruto's limited field of vision.

"My devilishly handsome looks?" Naruto offered weekly, a pit of nervousness building up in his stomach.

The kunoichi was not amused. "Who are you? Why were you watching me?"

Naruto chuckled humorlessly as he began to call upon the natural energy surrounding him. With a renewed burst of energy the sage was able to break free from the paralysis effects of the girl's technique. He pushed himself to his feet, allowing the natural energy he'd gathered to dissipate. "Calm down, I wasn't watching you -"

"You weren't?" The kunoichi's lips twisted into a shallow frown at the obvious lie.

"Well, I was watching you, but not intentionally!" Naruto protested, waving his hands in an appeasing manner. "I honestly just noticed you on my way out."

"I see," the redhead nodded her head thoughtfully. "That doesn't explain why you, obviously a shinobi, were using the rooftops to travel. Rooftops that are coincidentally a perfect vantage point for surveillance, I might add."

Naruto brought his hand to his neck in a sheepish rub. "Well you see... I was trying to get out of the village, unnoticed."

The redhead's eyebrow rose suspiciously. "Really now? Why?"

"Well," the Jinchuriki paused as he pondered his choice of words. "I was sort of framed for the murder of Uchiha Waizu..."

"Wait," the kunoichi blinked as her face morphed into a mixture of shock and disbelief. "What did you just say?"

"The Uchiha clan thinks that I killed their clan head, which I didn't! Ask anyone here about it, they'll tell you. My name's Uzumaki Naruto -"

"Wait! Did you just say your name was _Uzumaki_ Naruto?" The kunoichi exclaimed, interrupting Naruto's explanation.

"Yeah. You've heard of me?"

"Not exactly," the redhead shook her head as a chuckle of disbelief escaped her parted lips. "My name is Uzumaki Mito."

X.x.X.x.X

Madara's eyes danced over the contents of a scroll. The scroll was obviously old, the paper wrinkled and torn in places. His attention was utterly devoted to the contents of said scroll, he didn't even notice the clock as hours passed. After having ordered Izuna to place the bounty on Naruto's head, the newly established clan leader had excused himself to the private library, claiming he needed to perform some necessary research. Soon enough Madara's thin lips twisted into a surreptitious smirk. He snapped the scroll shut, a single phrase repeating through his mind. _'Kyubi no Yoko... Perfect.'_


	6. The Formation of a Team

The True Legacy

Chapter Six

X.x.X.x.X

"Uzumaki Mito?" Naruto repeated slowly, emphasizing his syllables with clear disbelief. His surprise was understandable; it wasn't every day that you met a living member of your long extinct clan. "So you are a member of the Uzumaki clan then?"

"Of course," Mito frowned at the man's ignorance. "I am the youngest daughter of Uzumaki Seiko, the clan head. You haven't heard of me?" The Uzumaki clan, while not near as infamous as the Senju or Uchiha, was a fairly well known clan throughout Hi no Kuni. They technically inhabited a remote island far off the eastern coast of Fire Country. Despite the distance they were able to maintain a healthy relationship with their neighboring country; their trade alone played a major role in the village of Shin's shipping industry.

"I can't say I have," Naruto answered truthfully. He pushed himself to his feet and sprouted a toothy grin. "I'm not _exactly_ from around here."

"Oh? But you are an Uzumaki?" Mito questioned suspiciously. "Where _exactly_ are you from?"

Naruto blinked at the girl's clever word play. They had only been in conversation for a matter of minutes and the young heiress had already cornered him, both figuratively and quite literally. "I was raised in western Fire Country. I lived in the same village for the first sixteen or so years of my life. It was recently destroyed." Something about the younger teen discouraged Naruto from the telling of direct lies. Instead he opted for half-truths.

Mito frowned at her conversational partner's morbid tone. Despite the rather unbelievable story, she could detect no hints of deception from the blond. "Was it war that destroyed your village?"

"No... It was a single man."

"A man?" Mito rolled her eyes at the seemingly absurd reply. "What kind of a man possesses the power to destroy a village?"

"It doesn't matter who it was," Naruto growled. He absentmindedly noted that his knuckles had lost their color from being clenched so tightly. "He's dead now."

The red head's brow scrunched in confusion as she deduced the hidden meaning of his words. "You killed him?"

"In a way."

Mito outright scoffed at the cryptic words. "Really? You expect me to believe that you killed a man that could single-handedly destroy a village?"

"I don't really care what you believe," Naruto responded simply as his lips thinned into a sad smile. "What's done is done; I left my old life behind."

Mito nodded slow, still not quite believing the older teen's tale. "So what are you doing in Shin? Come to kill another clan head?"

"What! No!" Naruto protested with wide eyes, shaking his hands in front of his body disarmingly. "I...-"

"I'm joking!" Mito brought her open palm over her lips in an attempt to suppress her giggle. "You don't seem like the kind of guy who would just kill a clan head for no good reason."

Naruto noted her choice of words with a groan. "So you haven't written me of as innocent yet, you just think I had a motive?"

"I don't know what to think," Mito responded with a playful grin as she walked towards the side of the rooftop, motioning for the blond to follow. "Come on... If you catch me I'll show you something." With these words the redhead swung her hips over the guard rail, allowing gravity to do the rest.

An annoyed sigh escaped Naruto's parted lips as he made his way to the edge of the building. "Where the hell did she go?" He pondered as his sharp eyes scanned the area, looking for any sign of the elusive Uzumaki. His flickering gaze snapped to the right as he identified a redheaded blur of motion. She was rushing through the crowd, skillfully making use of her hard earned agility to avoid oncoming civilian traffic. Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose as he pumped chakra to his legs. He took off into a sprint, using the guard rail as a makeshift springboard to propel himself through the air, easily clearing a line of stalls. Using his power over gravity the blond was able to slow his descent, thus making it possible for a noiseless landing. "And so the chase begins..."

X.x.X.x.X

Mito's painted lips were parted in a broad grin as she bolted through the populated streets of the port village. Soundless laughter emerged from her throat as she threw her body into an airborne somersault. She twisted her torso and maneuvered herself through the opening in a fruit stall, leaving a flabbergasted merchant in her wake. Her green orbs widened slightly as she glanced backwards, recognizing the blond blur that was her pursuer. Mito ducked into a nearby alley and slapped two identical pieces of paper to the walls; one on each side of the alley's entrance. In a cloud of smoke a wall of some sort appeared, obstructing Naruto's view of the retreating girl. The wall was decorated with elaborate strokes of ink, formed into complex sealing arrays. In the center of the diversion the Uzumaki spiral was carved, identifying the technique as an Uzumaki-specific one.

"Damn..." Naruto whistled as he inspected the barrier, clearly impressed by the girl's quick thinking and apparent skill in Fūinjutsu. "That looks like a scaled down version of Orochimaru's Rashōmon..." Pouring his chakra to the soles of his feet, the Jinchuuriki attempted to ascend the wall. Attempted, of course, being the keyword. Naruto blinked thoughtfully as he slid down the summoned wall. "One of these seals must make it unresponsive to chakra... I'll give her one thing; she's definitely not an amateur when it comes to seals." With these words Naruto bolted through the populated streets, searching for an alternative route.

"Heh," Mito giggled from her vantage point atop a nearby rooftop. "He's pretty quick... I'll give him that. Although any Uzumaki worth their name should be able to counter that specific Fūinjutsu... Maybe he's not as special as I initially thought? I guess we'll have to see."

X.x.X.x.X

A handful of hours later found Uzumaki Mito pushing her way through the forest's brush. Shoving her way through one final layer of trees Mito came upon a scene that looked like it was stolen directly from a painting. The winding stream that parted the lush forests of Shin's surrounding land came to an end as it poured into a small lake. Aside from the river's entrance the lake was still, almost glass-like in the sun's reflection. Using the sun's position Mito was able to determine the relative time to be about five in the afternoon, meaning she had been evading the mysterious blond for almost four hours. Mito's sigh of disappointment broke through the barrier of tranquility that the forest produced. Her whole 'game' was an utter disappointment. The entire time she was able to effortlessly elude the blond's sight as she zigzagged through the forest. Eventually, finally realizing the futility of her actions, Mito had opted to return to her initial destination.

Mito didn't quite understand her fascination with the blond, or how he was able to effortlessly seize her attention. In truth it hadn't been him who was following her; no it was quite the opposite. From the very beginning of the day Mito had spotted the strange blond arriving in the town. She was immediately drawn to him. After finally being spotted she decided to try and turn the tables on the boy; to try and play her fascination off as mere chance. Then she spoke with him. In some twisted way she seemed familiar with the blond. It was as if they'd met before.

'_No... That's not it,'_ Mito shook her head in an attempt to change the direction of her train of thought. It wasn't Naruto as a whole that she felt familiar with. It was strangely only a part of him that felt familiar. It was his chakra. His massive reservoirs of chakra felt odd to the gifted sensor. The first abnormality was the sheer amount of the energy. It was debatably the largest pool of chakra she'd ever seen. The only people who came close were the Senju brothers, Hashirama and Tobimaru. The amount of chakra, while definitely impressive, was not the most startling feature. It was the contrasting feelings the chakra radiated. At first glance his chakra seemed heavy, almost as if it was pressuring the surrounding air. Once Mito began to dig deeper she felt a frightening hint of malevolence. The chakra felt surreal; almost entirely different from its wielder. The strange part was this violent feeling called out to Mito in an almost familiar way. It was as if she should recognize the feeling of the chakra, despite the fact that she could attest to never coming in contact with it in the past.

"Whatever..." Mito grumbled as she snapped out of her trance. "No use thinking so much into it. He failed the test."

"Test?" A familiar voice alerted Mito to the presence of the very man on her mind. "What test?"

She blinked rapidly as she spun around, easily spotting the meditating form of one Uzumaki Naruto. "What? How...?"

A single one of Naruto's sapphire orbs opened in response, "It wasn't hard to figure out where you would go. This is the only campsite within ten miles and you _have _been circling it for the past two hours. I figured you would come back eventually so I decided to wait it out."

Mito frowned as she scratched her nose, her face twisting into a thoughtful expression. "Oh... Well maybe you aren't as bad as I thought Blondie!"

"Blondie?" Naruto questioned with a chuckle.

"Well you _are_ the only Uzumaki I've ever seen to be born without red hair," Mito pointed out with a grin.

Naruto's lips spread into a genuine smile at this information. He absentmindedly wondered if his mother had possessed red hair. "Really? I guess that means I must be a diamond in the rough."

Mito snorted as she took a seat next to the smothered remains of a fire. "More like that one freaky cousin that the rest of the family denies knowing."

Naruto laughed at the good-natured chide as he plopped down next to the fire pit, directly across from Mito. He eyed the campsite skeptically. "You've been here a few days?"

"Yeah," Mito confirmed the blonde's suspicions with a nod. "A couple times a year I come out here for a week or so. It's mostly to get away from my clan and their uptight nature. You know how it is...family issues."

The Jinchuuriki could immediately tell that Mito was withholding information, but he allowed it to slip away. Kami knows he wasn't exactly an open book when it came to his personal problems. "I don't know how it is, not really. I never had a family. I grew up in an orphanage and lived alone most of my life."

Mito was caught off guard by this information. "I'm sorry... I just figured that one of your parents was an Uzumaki who defected. I didn't mean to bring up sour memories."

"It's fine," Naruto assured the girl as he attempted to change the subject, "So what were you going to show me?"

Mito's eyes sparkled mischievously as she recalled her earlier conversation with the blond man before her. "That's right... You never really did catch me, did you?"

"I guess I didn't." Naruto's clicked his tongue thoughtfully as he pondered the girl's words. Extending his arm forward he spoke the name of his technique, "Banshō Ten'in."

"What's happening?" The Uzumaki princess was at a loss for words as she was suddenly pulled forward by some unseen force. She vainly tried to resist the pull as she dug her heels into the earth. Unfortunately the technique proved her efforts worthless as she was unable to stop her forceful movement. She left shallow trenches in the earth as she stopped mere centimeters short of the sitting blond.

"Happy?" Naruto grinned as he lightly tapped Mito's shoulder, freeing her from his technique.

"How'd you do that?" Mito exclaimed in frightened astonishment. She was both amazed and terrified of the power of the strange jutsu.

"Practice?" Naruto replied cheekily.

"Can you teach me?" Mito questioned with barely constrained excitement. She could only imagine the uses of such a technique.

"I can't," Naruto answered sorrowfully. "It's sort of a bloodline."

"Oh." Mito frowned as she contemplated the answer. "I don't think I've ever heard of a bloodline that lets you pull things towards you with a single thought... Can you do anything else?"

"Yeah, I can control gravity to varying degrees. I can levitate and also use a technique that is basically the opposite of what you saw. It lets me push things away. I can even repel most jutsu with it," Naruto answered with a smile. In all honesty he didn't understand why he was being so truthful with the total stranger. Perhaps it was the small vibe of familiarity that seemed to radiate from the girl. He felt like he had met her before; like some small part of him knew the Uzumaki girl.

"Cool! Gravity release." Mito chirped happily as she flipped to her feet, stretching her unused muscles. "Have you tried using it differently? Like using it on a larger scale to affect the gravity of your battlefield. You could make it almost impossible for your enemies to move."

Naruto's eyes widened at the other Uzumaki's words. He hadn't thought of such a possibility. In the short time since the Jinchuuriki had learned of his surreal control over gravity he hadn't thought to go beyond what his - in a way - predecessor had done; to create an original technique. "That's actually a really good idea. Thanks!"

"I'm full of good ideas," Mito smiled sadly. _'Not that my family thinks so...'_

The Jinchuuriki frowned at his conversational partner's deflated mood. He wasn't dense to the point that other people's feelings eluded his understanding. "Well enough about me; I want to know about you. What are you good at?"

Mito's mood pulled a one eighty at this point. "I'm actually apprenticed under a master of Fūinjutsu. Most Uzumaki are at least moderately adept at Fūinjutsu, but very few of them actually reach master-status. The last to do it was my father's uncle... He ended up going mad trying to discover more and more secrets of the art. He eventually died in an accident involving one of his projects."

"I'm sorry," Naruto offered his sympathy.

"It's fine," Mito assured the blond. "I didn't even know him. My father says I remind him a lot of his uncle. That's why he didn't want me to learn Fūinjutsu. I guess the sweetest treats are the forbidden ones, huh?"

Naruto nodded. He was inwardly thinking of his Futon: Rasenshuriken and its forbidden power. "Yeah. I know what you mean. So how'd you get so good with seals then?"

Mito's eyes darkened as she pondered his words. Her mood immediately dipped back into the glumness she had previously shown. "I had to...find a teacher outside of the clan. In the Uzumaki clan it is forbidden for someone directly related to the clan head to be taught by an outsider. If my father knew he'd be livid; he doesn't even know that I am good with seals yet!"

Naruto's lip tugged into a frown as a sudden thought crossed his mind. _'It's sort of like my life. We each have a hidden ability that we can't let anyone know of. In her case it's her passion for Fūinjutsu. In my case it's a thousand year old demon bound to my gut. Speaking of which...' _"Hey Mito?"

"Yeah?"

"So just how good with seals are you?" Naruto questioned, his entire demeanor shifting to one of deadly seriousness. He absentmindedly traced his marked stomach, an act that didn't go unnoticed by Mito.

"The scale that a seals-master is judged by is pretty straight forward," Mito explained coolly. "That is; from a level one, a day one learner, to a level eight, or one step short of master status."

"So where would you place yourself on that scale?"

"Hmm," Mito bit her lower lip in thought. "Only a master can truly decide a learner's rank. The last time I asked my teacher he told me I was borderline seven... But that was months ago, and I've only improved since then. I would say that I am anywhere from a seven to an eight."

Naruto nodded dumbly, clearly startled by that revelation. It was hard to believe that a fourteen year old girl was nearing the level of his sensei, widely recognized as Hi no Kuni's greatest seals-master. His blue orbs flickered to his stomach, mentally picturing the seal inscribed into his very flesh. With a shake of his head he decided against telling the girl about his tenant. "So you're really good. Wouldn't your dad be proud of you?"

Mito sighed. "In his own twisted way - yes - he would be proud of me. He would be much angrier though. My father is a man who likes to control basically everything in our lives. He sees himself as guiding us into a perfect life. He doesn't understand that my sisters and I don't exactly see eye to eye on everything." With a breath she began again, "You know he wants me to use a sword? I can't _stand_ killing people, but I could never tell him that. The Uzumaki clan has always had a strong relationship with some of Water Country's powerful clans of sword wielders. We can trade with them easily and get cheap swords. So by proxy we have almost as many talented swordsmen as we do Fūinjutsu users."

Naruto nodded, proving that he was indeed listening to her tale. "You said you have sisters? How many?"

"Two," Mito answered. "I'm the middle child. My older sister is next in line to rule the Uzumaki. She's just as you would expect; strong, smart, beautiful, and courageous. She is my father's dream; his hope for the future." _'She's everything I'm not…'_ Mito frowned at her thoughts as she continued, "I'm six years older than my other sister. She is already showing a strong affinity towards lightning, which is rare in our clan. My father has recently taken an interest in her training."

"Where's that leave you?" Naruto asked, already having strong suspicions of her answer.

"You know... I really don't know anymore," Mito answered with a heartfelt sigh. "At this rate I'll probably be married off into another clan. To improve relationships and all that."

Naruto frowned as he pushed himself to his feet, his gaze turning towards the setting sun. He had lost track of time, talking with the girl for hours on end. "It's always your choice, no matter how hard it may seem."

"I wish it was that easy..."

"It isn't," Naruto answered with blunt honesty. "But then again, most things that are worthwhile aren't easy. I had a dream as a kid. I wanted to be the leader of my village; the man that everybody respected and would turn to in times of trouble. My dream is impossible now..." Naruto's surprisingly motivated eyes locked with Mito's own. "...but it's not dead. It may have changed over the years, but it's still with me."

"And what is this dream of yours now?" Mito questioned with genuine curiosity. The look in Naruto's eyes was one of complete and utter determination. He genuinely believed that he could accomplish this dream of his, whatever it may be.

"You might call me stupid... But I want to stop the never ending cycle of war. It was my master's dream originally, but it's one that lives on through me." Naruto's words were surprisingly deep; dripping with emotion. She could tell from just his words alone that he knew the pain that war so carelessly brought upon the land.

Mito couldn't help herself as she began to laugh. It wasn't cruel, spiteful laughter in an attempt to mock Naruto's dream. She was laughing at the irony of the situation. A shinobi was a man born and raised in war. A shinobi was a man hand crafted with the intentions of fighting wars. It was strange that such a man could wholeheartedly speak against war. "You're a strange guy Naruto... For some, unexplainable reason I feel like I can trust you."

Naruto smiled at the girl's words. He stared hesitantly at his abdominal, contrasting thoughts flowing through his mind. If the girl before him could so effortlessly put her trust in him, why couldn't he do the same with her? He weighed the pros and cons of the situations as the Uzumaki princess disappeared into her tent. "Wait! Will I ever see you again?"

The redheaded girl's head peaked out through the tent's flap, a wide grin on her face. "Sure! Come into town tomorrow morning. I'll meet you on top of that same building at eleven?"

"Yeah, I'll bring Konan too." Naruto added as an afterthought.

Mito nodded happily, "The more the merrier!" She chuckled as she disappeared back into the tent.

Naruto casually smoothed out his sage coat as he leaped into the canopy, intent on returning to his own campsite.

X.x.X.x.X

Naruto's eyes fluttered open as he regained his bearings. Rubbing his head he attempted to recall the previous night's dealings. He remembered returning to his campsite and noticing Konan's absence. Without digging too deep into it he had fallen asleep, confident in the blue haired girl's abilities. He scanned the surrounding area. With a frown he realized that both Konan and Aijin were missing. Quickly gathering the surrounding nature chakra, an act which now took a measly handful of seconds, Naruto entered into Sage Mode. Closing his toad-like eyes the sage extended his senses beyond his general area, searching for either of his companions. He was able to identify Konan's fluctuating chakra levels, which was usually the sign of heavy emotions. In other words she appeared to be in a fight. Gathering enough natural chakra to aid him, should some sort of fight break out, the blond took off towards his friend's signature.

X.x.X.x.X

"I told you I wasn't _trying_ to peak! I was just wandering through the forest and I happened to see you in the lake," a scratchy voice argued his case against the wrath of a female.

A sweat-drop formed on the back of Naruto's head as he arrived at the scene. A deep red blush painted Naruto's face as he spotted a very angry and very _naked _Konan. He gulped as he averted his eyes from the blue haired beauty.

"Naruto, could you please grab my clothes? They are hidden under a bush to your right," Konan called without averting her gaze from the perverted man. She used her arms to cover her more _private_ areas.

"Sure thing!" Naruto called weakly, Konan's naked form still engraved deeply into his mind. He quickly retrieved her clothes; a pair of dark blue shinobi trousers and a sleeveless shirt of a similar color.

"Thank you," Konan nodded gratefully towards her companion as she pulled on the clothes. Turning towards the man she smiled at his lack of mobility. He was currently wrapped in a prison of paper, the same paper that made up Konan's Akatsuki cloak. The paper encircled the man from head to toe, leaving only his mouth free. Her glare intensified as she stared at the trapped man, "You do realize how inappropriate it is to peak on a bathing woman, don't you?"

"Y-yes! Of course I do. I'll never do it again, I swear! Please, just let me go."

"What do I call you?" Konan asked with a slight edge still present in her voice.

"J-Jinsoku Hitotsu!"

Konan nodded as she waved her arm, calling for her paper to free its captive. The paper quickly reformed into her usual cloak, leaving a stunned Hitotsu on his hands and knees. "What have you to say for your actions?"

"I'm s-sorry Konan-sama!" Hitotsu clasped his palms together as he touched his forehead to the ground below Konan's feet. He was a medium sized man; being average height and possessing a scrawny build. He had straight black hair that framed his cheeks, hanging down just below his shoulder blades. A long scar trailed down from his eye to his chin, taking away from his otherwise unblemished skin. He was dressed in a white kimono top with a light purple trim. A matching pair of pants completed his outfit.

"That's quite alright," Konan brushed off the man's apologetic behavior. She turned towards Naruto with a smirk, "Why don't you stay and talk to him. You can tell him all about what happens to perverted men who watch women bathe." Although these were her words, Naruto was able to interpret her covert message through her body language and tone of voice. _'We will talk when you get back. You better have a good excuse by then.'_

"Heh, sure Konan-chan!" Naruto chuckled as she dissolved into paper and blew away with a sudden gust of the wind. He turned towards the remaining man with a smile, "So who did you say you were again?"

"Jinsoku Hitotsu." The man's nervous voice had completely vanished. His tone was now as cold as ice. "And you are Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied as his smile receded into a neutral expression. A feeling of unease was building in Naruto's stomach. He knew something wasn't as it seemed.

"Then you must die!" Hitotsu shouted as he charged forward. His speed, while impressive for an untrained civilian, was nothing a shinobi couldn't handle.

"What the hell?" Naruto replied intelligently as he sidestepped a wild punch. He didn't have time to think, however, as his opponent immediately twisted into a roundhouse kick. The Jinchuuriki threw himself into a somersault, rolling under his assailant's limb. He pushed himself to his feet just in time to parry a left hook, followed by twisting his body around an incoming elbow.

This strange game of cat and mouse continued for a handful of minutes; with Hitotsu never able to land a solid blow on the shinobi. He tried everything to catch the Jinchuuriki off guard. He tried punches, kicks, head-butts... He tried basically anything possible in an attempt to upstage his opponent. Unfortunately for him, he was up against a trained shinobi. His punches were blocked, parried and evaded. No matter what he tried it seemed he just wasn't fast enough - or precise enough in his technique - to catch the blond off guard.

"Why can't I hit you?" Hitotsu growled out, emphasizing each and every word of his sentence with a swing of his fist.

Naruto easily evaded the man's sloppy blows. "Why are you attacking me?" Naruto questioned as he ducked low under a fist. He flipped backwards, landing in a low crouch. Crossing his arms across his chest Naruto turned his scrutinizing gaze toward the mysterious attacker. "Explain."

"I don't have to explain anything!" The man responded through gritted teeth. He steadied his breathing and began to chain his fingers through a set of hand signs. "There's no way you can avoid my attacks now! Jinton: Mueishō (Swift release: Shadowless Flight)." The civilian man literally shimmered out of existence, leaving only a distorted afterimage in his wake.

"What the hell? I never thought I'd see that again..." Naruto grumbled as he scanned the surrounding area. His eyes widened as he felt a sudden strike from his back. The blond was sent flying forward from the surprisingly powerful attack. Before he could even begin to regroup he felt another strike, this time from the front. He was thrown across the field as a rag-doll of sorts, each time being intercepted by the flickering form of his assailant. He was a literal pinball as he just wasn't fast enough to react to the instantaneous speed Hitotsu seemed to strike with.

"Face it... I'm too fast for you to keep up with!" The man's laughter sounded from every direction as he appeared before Naruto, fist reared back. Naruto cringed as he was sent tumbling across the ground, landing in a heap of swollen appendages.

"I can't react quickly enough!" Naruto desperately searched his brain for a way to battle an opponent that he couldn't even see. Thinking quickly his fingers snapped into a familiar position, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" In a gargantuan cloud of smoke a literal army of doppelgangers popped into existence. He didn't expect the army of clones to be able to defeat the quick footed enemy, merely to hold him off for a short amount of time. Pushing his hands into a strange seal Naruto attempted to gather the area's natural chakra.

"Not this time!" Hitotsu cried as his fist slammed into Naruto's stomach, sending him crashing into a nearby tree. The blonde's body impacted the tree in an explosion of dust and debris. He was literally sent _through_ the tree, slamming into the ground behind it.

_'That punch was on a whole new level! He's moving so fast that the force of his punch is increased exponentially!' _Naruto mentally assessed the situation, searching for any weakness in his opponent's technique. _'But he's still just an untrained man with a powerful jutsu. If he runs out of chakra he'll be as weak as anyone else...' _With this thought in mind the blond sage began to script out his new - entirely on the fly - battle plan. His mental timer began to tick as he heard the last of his Kage Bushin dispel. _'3... 2... 1... Shinra Tensei!'_ In an explosion of unseen force Hitotsu was sent crashing through several layers of the forest. A ten meter crater of pure destruction - crushed trees, upturned roots, barren wasteland and all - spiraled out from the panting form of Uzumaki Naruto.

He had timed his speedy opponent's movements just right in order to conclude the short - yet extremely hectic - battle. Naruto slowly trekked towards the immobile Jinton user. He shot the young man, who looked around fifteen years of age, a heated glare. "Are we done?"

Hitotsu nodded solemnly. "Please spare me Uzumaki-sama! I'm completely out of chakra. I can't even move my body..." The man's words seemed to bring out a very emotional reaction as hot tears streamed down his tanned cheeks.

Naruto stared awkwardly at the crying man. "It's fine. We all lose battles... You actually did really well for someone who has no Taijutsu training.-"

"You don't understand!" Hitotsu interrupted his target with a pained shout. "My family... We were poor; too poor to pay the increasing taxes of the land. They were sold into slavery in an attempt to pay our bills..." The Jinton user wiped his tear-soaked face with his sleeve. "I was able to escape... I tried to make it out as a bounty hunter. I needed money to buy back my family! At a young age my uncle taught me how to use my Jinton abilities.-" He paused to allow a tearful moan to escape his parted lips.

"So you heard of my bounty and decided to try your luck against a seasoned Shinobi?" Naruto asked with a frown. In a way he sympathized with the man. If someone important to him was forced into slavery he would do almost anything to free them.

Hitotsu nodded weakly. He was not necessarily a courageous man. He knew when he was outclassed. The Jinton user also knew when he was at his enemy's mercy. "Please... Don't kill me. If I die my family will remain forever enslaved!"

"What makes you think I'd kill you?" Naruto questioned with genuine confusion. What was it about him that gave people the impression that he would kill in cold blood? Did he just have the aura of a murderous man?

"I..." Hitotsu paused as he racked his brain for an answer. "You killed Uchiha Waizu, didn't you?"

"No, no, for the thousandth time no!" Naruto shouted with an irritated groan. He was sick and tired of people accusing him of murdering the Uchiha clan head. It was all just a big misunderstanding, and it was about time people realized it.

"Well... I'm... Sorry?" Hitotsu offered his apology with a blank tone. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of the man, not yet anyway.

"Naruto!" Konan's panicked voice echoed throughout the clearing. In a matter of moments the former member of Akatsuki appeared in the clearing. She was panting heavily, an obvious testament to her hurry.

"Huh? What happened Konan-chan?" Naruto inquired as he stared into his companion's amber orbs.

"Aijin is gone. When I got back to our camp I saw her talking with a strange looking man. She seemed to know him; she left with him voluntarily." Konan explained in her calmest possibly voice, which seemed uncharacteristically shaky.

Naruto bit back a curse as he clenched his fists. "Do you have any idea who it was?"

"No," Konan shook her head. "But that isn't the worst news... The man - whoever he was - was able to identify you as the Kyubi's Jinchuuriki."

X.x.X.x.X

**Chapter's a wrap. Hope you all enjoyed. I know it's been a while since my last update, but I was on a two and a half week long vacation, with no internet usage. Add onto the fact that I had a bit of a case of writer's block, and I wanted to work on my other stories... and you get what I mean. I hope you all enjoyed the glimpse into Mito's back story. Next chapter we will revisit Izuna and Madara, each plotting their own plans. I also intend to shed some light on Hitotsu's history. As always REVIEW.**

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